Former Tyco (NYSE: TYC) CEO Dennis Kozlowski and former CFO Mark Swartz asked New York's Supreme Court to throw out their convictions on the grounds of insufficient evidence -- Kozlowski had been convicted of grand larceny.

As despicable of a character as Kozlowski is, he doesn't belong in prison: Tyco was a corporate governance train wreck, and he was essentially jailed for being paid an obscene amount of money. Tyco was not a massive securities fraud and, in fact, has produced solid returns for its shareholders.

One of the flaws with the Tyco case -- and it extends into media coverage of corporate governance today -- is that it held an executive responsible for gross negligence on the part of the board of directors. By throwing Kozlowski in jail and writing him off as a crook, the real threat to shareholders was essentially let of the hook: complacent and compliant directors at public companies.

Free Dennis Kozlowski, stop wasting taxpayer money imprisoning someone who was more reflective of an era than evil, and move onto bigger battles.