One day after a judge sentenced Conrad Black to six-and-a-half years in prison, a juror in his trial says Black deserves to spend time behind bars and his sentence is fair and appropriate.
In addition to the jail sentence, Black, the former CEO of Hollinger International, was fined $125,000 which must be paid within 90 days.
Judge Amy St. Eve told Black he must report to a minimum-security Florida prison before March 3 to begin serving his sentence.
Black has vowed to appeal the conviction.
Juror James Kirby told CTV's Canada AM that St. Eve treated Black fairly throughout the trial and he had confidence in her sentencing decision.
"Relative to the number of charges he was charged with versus what he was convicted of, I think it was relatively fair," Kirby said.
"I definitely think time should be served. As far as how long, I think the judge is in a better position to make that determination, but I am pleased he is going to jail."
He also said it wasn't one specific piece of evidence, such as footage of Black removing boxes from his Toronto offices, that convinced the jury of Black's guilt, rather it was "the whole gamut."
"Obviously over four months you hear a lot of things going on. But it was the total of the whole kit and caboodle so to speak rather that one specific thing."
After the sentencing on Monday, Black made his way through a throng of reporters outside the Chicago courthouse, saying only that his appeal "would speak for itself."
St. Eve told Black she felt he was not a "future threat" because of everything he had lost.
Black spoke for only a few minutes in court, despite reports that he had prepared a 5,000-word statement.
He complimented the judge on her handling of the trial, and said he regretted the loss suffered by Hollinger International shareholders.
Black was also ordered to forfeit $6.1 million for fraud and obstruction of justice -- with no right to restitution.
"You have committed a serious offence, a very serious offence," St. Eve told Black.
She had earlier said a term between 7 and 8 years would be appropriate.
Black had faced up to 20 years in prison for his conviction on three charges of fraud and one of obstruction of justice.
Black was acquitted in July on nine other charges.
CTV's legal analyst Steven Skurka told Canada AM the sentencing should be seen as a victory for the defence team, considering Black could have spent the rest of his life in prison.
"This was a tremendous victory for the defence considering you started with a bleeding wound. He was convicted on four counts on the indictment and (the sentence) was less than a quarter of what the prosecution was asking for," Skurka said.
Black will also be able to keep the proceeds from the sale of his New York apartment and will be able to keep his Florida home.
Skurka said Black, who renounced his Canadian citizenship in order to take on the title Lord Black of Cross Harbour in the U.K., will eventually return to Canada.
"I think he will. I think he'll come back with bluster and defiance, we haven't seen the last of this man."
'He's going to prevail'
Black's Chicago-based lawyer Ed Genson had little to say outside the courthouse on Monday, but told Â鶹´«Ã½ his client received a fair trial.
"Conrad has good appeal lawyers and hopefully he's going to prevail on appeal," he said. "I'm mainly impressed with Judge Amy St. Eve. I thought she gave us a fair trial and a fair hearing."
One of those appeal lawyers, Andrew Frey, said he would fight hard to appeal the sentence and keep Black out of jail.
"For a 63-year-old man, six-and-a-half years is a long time, especially for a man who doesn't think he committed a crime," he said.
Eddie Greenspan, Black's Canadian lawyer during the trial, echoed that sentiment, but said the length of sentence could have been far worse.
"I'm not pleased today that he got a single day in jail," he said. "But given what we came in to with this trial, we were facing allegations that included $90 million in fraud and we were facing what might have been tantamount to life in jail. It's a very nerve-wracking beginning of a trial for someone charged with a non-violent offence. But that's America today."
Black's chief sentencing counsel, Jeffrey Steinback, described Black as a respected historian and loving father who firmly believes he has done nothing wrong.
He called him a hard-working entrepreneur who built the empire he has now been convicted of stealing from.
"No bank robber has ever personally built the bank that he robbed," Steinback said.
"Nobody can seriously contend that Conrad would do anything to cause that company distress."
The prosecution, however, claimed Black had shown no remorse or regret, that he is not sorry for what he has done and is even disdainful of the court and the convictions against him.
He had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and has been critical of the U.S. justice system, recently telling a British interviewer a jail sentence "will only compound the injustice of this entire vendetta."
U.S. federal prosecutors were seeking a prison term approaching 20 years. But Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Chicago area, said he was still happy with the sentence.
"Mr. Black is going to jail as a convicted felon, convicted of fraud. So we proved the case," Fitzgerald told reporters. "The bottom line is Mr. Black will do 6 1/2 years in jail. That's a serious amount of time."
Black was the first of four defendants to be sentenced Monday. His former colleagues, Peter Atkinson, Jack Boultbee and Mark Kipnis, also received prison terms:
Boultbee, of Victoria, B.C., was considered Black's key financial advisor. He was handed 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also must pay $152,000 in restitution.
Atkinson, of Oakville, Ont., was the chief legal counsel for Hollinger. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison and given a $3,000 fine.
U.S. lawyer Mark Kipnis must serve six months in jail and will be required to perform community service.
With a report by CTV's Lisa LaFlamme
