Enron's Jeff Skilling wants his conviction reversed

For a guy who was once at the apex of business running the seventh largest company in America, prison life must be pretty boring. Mopping duty and smuggling pruno can't hold a candle to flying around with politicians and plotting schemes for raping the California energy markets.

So what's a fellow in former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling's unenviable position to do with all that free time? Try to find a way to get out! This week, a court will consider the possibility of overturning Mr. Skilling's convictions on one count of conspiracy, one count of insider trading, five counts of lying to auditors, and twelve counts of securities on fraud. Mr. Skilling is serving a sentence of more than 24 years in Club Fed.

Mr. Skilling and his lawyers have some hope, based on newly-released documents, including 400 pages of handwritten transcripts of interviews with the government's star witness, former CFO Andy Fastow. The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "The Skilling legal team says the notes undermine trial testimony by Mr. Fastow, a star government witness against Mr. Skilling. It says the notes refute Mr. Fastow's contention that he and Mr. Skilling discussed illegal accounting maneuvers. The Justice Department disputes this characterization."

Skilling's lawyers argue that this evidence was "deliberately and systematically" withheld from the defense which, they say, is grounds for overturning the verdict. Prosecutors replied in their brief that "microscopic and misleading dissection of the Fastow notes provides no basis for overturning the jury's verdict."