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In the final weeks before Stewart's sentencing, hundreds of well-wishers sent letters to the judge asking for mercy "
From Springfield, Ohio, four middle-school cooks and a custodian wrote: "Martha Stewart has been an inspiration for women across the nation
"I am alone now with my pets," a woman named Ruth Ritter wrote to the judge in careful script
The judge also could allow Stewart to spend half her sentence at a halfway house or confined to her home
In the event of a prison sentence, lawyers for Stewart, 62, were expected to ask Cedarbaum to allow her to remain free while she appeals her conviction A hardworking, delightful character that shares her creative ideas with everyday people like us stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, who was convicted along with Stewart of lying about the 2001 stock sale, was scheduled to be sentenced later Friday
Supporters applauded and one shouted, "Hold your head high, Martha!"
Legal experts predicted U Martha Stewart Arrives for Sentencing
Jul 16, 8:35 AM EST
Martha Stewart arrived at a federal courthouse Friday to learn whether the stock-trading scandal that tarnished her empire of gracious living would land her in prison "
Former Merrill Lynch & Co District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum would sentence Stewart to 10 to 16 months in prison for lying about a stock sale "Just seeing Martha doing her crafts, cooking, gardening, was a great comfort to me
Stewart, dressed simply in a black pantsuit, showed no emotion as she strode briskly through a media horde |