In my personal opinion, both Skilling and Lay are guilty in Enron's case. The most honest attitude they could've followed would've been to pledge guilty. On the contrary, while lower lever executives, such as Fastow, pledged guilty; Skilling and Lay, the heads of the company, the two top executives pledged innocent.In a case like Enron, based mainly on testimonies and analysis of past fast, sometimes is difficult to decide who you believe. I always thought all of them were guilty, I mean the top executives. However, as the trial goes on, I am starting to differenciate two different types of guilty.
The first one is where Fastow is. He knows he had done bad things, he regrets it, he acknowledges his faults and he is willing to pay for them.The second one is where Skilling and Lay are. They know they had done bad things, but they'll never admit it, they will continue with the theory that they didn't know anything about the operations that finally drove Enron into bankruptcy. They continue lying (in my opinion), smiling and posing for the picture. Furthermore, they pretend to make us believe that they are the victims in this story, that they found themselves involved in this scandal without knowing anything.
From my point of view, it is much more honest Fastow's attitude, he knows he destroyed his life, he is ashamed of what he did, but he regrets it, he stands up, assumes his faults and asks for forgiveness.
