Ken Lay Falling Short - John Hueston Is Up

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

Skilling is supposed to be the sleazy, irritable one and Kenneth Lay the avuncular nice guy. This is third day on the stand for Lay who is now being cross examined by John Hueston. Without his regular council, even in the direct Lay came across as controlling and irritable which is not the impression to give the jury. Because Lay's defense is essentially, "I know nothing" about any wrong doing and "I don't recall" about anything incriminating he needs to be believable. Without any direct evidence, credibility and likeability are essential for Lay to avoid a conviction. He barely showed those traits during the direct and the contracts responded with a several point move pointing toward conviction. Ken fell short of expectations and doesn't have much time to save himself.

Bringing less than your A-game when the prosecutor, "has never lost a single count in any of his cases" is probably not a good idea.