Back to Jail for Conrad Black

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 24, 2011 7:40PM

Judge Amy St. Eve sentenced former Sun-Times Publisher Conrad Black to 13 more months in jail during a re-sentencing hearing today that also saw his wife, Barbara Amiel Black, faint as St. Eve handed down her sentence.

Per the Sun-Times:

Just before fainting, Barbara Black, wearing a white, pleated skirt, put her hand over her mouth, then fell to her side while seated. Security rushed to her as the judge continued talking to her husband.

Barbara Black later stood up and walked out of the courtroom, a medical crew from within the building at her side. Paramedics and an ambulance that were called to the courthouse left minutes later without her. Later, donning sunglasses and walking slowly by her husband’s side, Barbara Black summed up why she fainted: “too little sleep.”

It seems as though the drama wasn't relegated solely to Amiel Black. Lord Black of Crossharbour, OC, PC (Can.), KCSG recited poems and read a 20-minute speech on his behalf, asking St. Eve for leniency for the strain he's placed on his family. Black's attorneys also provided testimonials from fellow inmates who said he mentored and tutored them.

St. Eve considered all that, then reminded Black that his treating of the Sun-times and other newspapers as his own slush funds as head of Hollinger International still warranted he serve out the remaining 13 months of his 42-month sentence. "You had a duty of trust. The shareholders put their trust in you. And you violated that trust," St. Eve said, adding, that the sentence would "send a message to executives in your position to show respect for the law."

Black and his attorneys have been arguing for a reduced sentence or release from prison ever since the Supreme Court reduced the scope of the Honest Services Law.