Former Wal-Mart executive to be resentenced

Anyone using a stolen Sam's Club gift card in Joplin had better watch his step.
Former Wal-Mart executive Thomas Coughlin, who had that crime on the list he pleaded guilty to in federal court in 2006, is not going to get the soft prison sentence he had expected.
On Tuesday, an appellate court ruled that his sentence, which included house arrest, but no jail time, was too lenient:

The district court clearly erred in finding Coughlin suffers an extraordinary physical impairment and abused its discretion," the panel said in a 2 to 1 ruling. The case was returned to the trial court for resentencing.

Defense lawyers claimed that Coughlin's heart condition, diabetes, obesity and sleep apnea made him too fragile to survive prison. Prosecutors argued in an appeal that thousands of inmates get adequate care for similar conditions. Both sides can present new evidence before Coughlin is sentenced again, the panel said yesterday.

The Joplin connection was explored in the Washington Post article:

In his 2006 guilty plea, Coughlin admitted using a stolen Sam's Club gift card in Joplin, Mo., to buy a cooler, two cases of beer, two cases of vodka, two containers of whiskey, a carton of tequila and a patio torch. He admitted falsifying expense reports to get reimbursement for care for his dogs and to upgrade his truck.

Coughlin at one time was the second highest paid executive at Wal-Mart.