By Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press
HOUSTON — A federal judge has vacated the conviction of Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who died in July, wiping out a jury's verdict that he committed fraud and conspiracy in the months before his company's collapse.
Lay was convicted of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases on May 25. Enron's collapse in 2001 wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans.
Lay died of heart disease July 5 while vacationing with his wife, Linda, in Aspen, Colo. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, in a ruling Tuesday, agreed with Lay's lawyers that his death required erasing his convictions. They cited a 2004 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found a defendant's death pending appeal extinguished his entire case because he didn't have a full opportunity to challenge the conviction and the government shouldn't be able to punish a dead defendant or his estate.
One key legal question is whether the order will be recognized by the courts of Lay's current venue:
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