MARTHA, MARTHA, MARTHA (From John Resnick)

Gov't Witness Charged in Stewart Case (Gail Appleson, Reuters, 5/21/04)

A government witness was charged with lying to help convict lifestyle trendsetter Martha Stewart, officials said on Friday, raising questions of whether her conspiracy conviction could be thrown out.

Larry Stewart, a U.S. Secret Service laboratory director, was accused of committing perjury at her trial, where he testified as an expert witness about ink on a worksheet kept by her stockbroker, federal prosecutors said.

On those cold lonely nights in prison, having grown tired in her soul of the carefully coordinated grays of the prison walls and prison blankets, it will be exquisite torture for Martha Stewart to know that she was convicted after federal officer lied at her trial. She's going to prison nevertheless. We might, though, want to revisit our comfort with sending people to jail because their testimony about a conversation differs from an FBI agent's testimony about that conversation, particularly when a conviction means fifteen minutes of fame for the prosecution.

Posted by David Cohen at May 22, 2004 9:23 AM