At the beginning of this month, former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was indicted for fraud far too long after the collapse of his company -nearly four years ago.

The stories were splattered all across the media. They were magnified, analyzed and criticized as much as humanly possible - and it was an interesting ride.

The public has come to realize rich public figures are, to some degree, still human - they make mistakes, they are not always good people, and when given the opportunity, they take advantage of the situation.

And the ultimate lesson has been, when convicted of the crime, justice is delivered. Right?

Wrong.

It has become an all-too-familiar a scenario for low-income Americans to be thrown in prison for stealing amounts of money that folks like Stewart see as pocket change. Or what about the homeless man breaking and entering into a house and stealing a $200 television set?

By no means should any criminal be excused of a crime because it isn't "that bad," but it seems that money plays a large factor.

Actress Winona Ryder was convicted of stealing $5,500 worth of clothes, with a video tape as evidence. Instead of paying for the clothes or serving prison time, she was asked to only "accept responsibility."

To know that money can buy justice - that the rich can get off on a minimum sentence in a cushy prison and the poor pay a maximum penalty in a living hell - exposes our system as corrupt and unfair.

After Stewart's "shameful day" she was delivered her minimum sentence - something the common American would most often never be spared in a similar trial.