Tyler Cowen: Elizabeth Holmes Should Not Be in Prison

Article here. Excerpt:

'Like many other people, I was enthralled by the new movie You Can See Everything. I found it stunningly original, and the three hours never dragged for me. (Before we go any further, there are no spoilers in this review, at least assuming you already know who Elizabeth Holmes is.)

But while watching it, I had a recurring thought: Holmes should not be in prison. To be clear, I do not doubt the jury’s findings of guilt. Nor am I trying to argue she was a naïf, trapped into crime by a cruel and hostile world.

What I did observe in the film, and knew about already, is that she has two small children. Furthermore, although her offenses were egregious—creating and marketing Theranos, a fraudulent blood-testing company—Holmes did not commit nor threaten any violence. The main charges that held up in court were wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, or in more commonsense terms, defrauding her investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.'