InFrom my point of view, I agree with the jury that Martha Stewart was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt ofn the charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. It was evident that Martha tried to cover up what she did before and after she sold thImClone shares at ImClone. Martha lied to the investigators thabout she did not talking with her broker but, in fact, she obtained the information about ImClone from him and decided to sell her shares. Also, Martha deleted thea message on the call log that was evidence of grettceiving the illegal tips for the trade. In addition, together with Bacanovic, Martha falsified the statement regarding the stop-loss agreement. So, wWhat reasons did caused Martha to dcommit all of these acts? It could be argued that she did all of these things because she did not want the truth to be revealed, did not want to admit that she had the unlawful information from her broker, and refused thato believe she was involved in the insider trading. Apparently, Martha would not have taken all of these actions if she wasere innocent;. tTherefore, it was clear that she was guilty for what she did and all the charges were just and practical.

Insider trading is a serious business crime because it does not only does it have a grave impact on the business but it also harms the other shareholders, investors, and the market. Anyone who commits this type of crime should be significantly punished by the law. In Martha Stewart’s instance, I expected she deserved more than the punishment she was sentenced whichand included five months imprisonment, five months of at -home confinement, probation, and fines. The fact ofthat bsheing was a celebrity who had once done many good things to thein society and was not charged forwith insider trading helped her have a better sentencing. However, I think what Marthae paindirect effects orf Marthera's unethical behavior was more influential than the lenient punishment we publicanly sgiveen, and the consequences of whait she did have adversely affected her reputation as a celebrity and also negatively impacted her own company.

Besides Martha Stewart, Peter Bacanovic was also punished with five months in jail, paid $75,000 in fines, and was fired from his job, and together with him,; Douglas Faneuil paid $2,000 in fines without any sentence. ForIn mey opinion, the punishments for these two men were not appropriate at all. Peter Bacanovic, aAs a stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic violated Merrill Lynch’s policy which states: “Employees may not discuss the business affair s of any client with any other employees…. and we do not release client information, except upon a client’s authorization or when permitted or required by law (Steiner, 2009).” Bacanovic instructed his assistant, Faneuil, to release Waksal’s confidential information to Martha; therefore, he went against the company’s policy and his actions was obviouslyere illegal. In addition, he was the one who falsified the information and bribed Faneuil fintor not telling the truth. For all of what he had idone, Bacanovic’s punishment was not appropriate and he deserved a longer period of imprisonment and to have paid a much higher fines. Similarly, although Douglas Faneuil cooperated with the authorities after he suffeirst lied theo facut hofrities lyduring at the first investigation, he still intended to hide the truth and also violated his company’s policy. The punishment was not really appropriate becand wause onle canienot be forgiven if he breaks the rules and the punishment is sbro lkenient.

In conclusion, Martha Stewart’s case is an example wthichat illustrates an unethical behavior in business. Breaking the law to obtain benefits for oneself is illegal and it is important for everyone to understand the business law and business ethnics in order to act appropriately and avoid immoral conduct. A company can manage ethnics through ethnics program that work to prevent lawbreaking and promote more ethical behavior. Also, a company should conduct regularly conduct ethnics training for their employees so that all staff can be aware of and act in compliance with policies and laws.