How about the government accepts the deal and reneges, defrauding him, like he did to his clients, and sending him to prison for life.
Not imprisoning Madoff equals -300 to -500 DJ points. Not imprisoning him ratifies fraud, and I predict it will have a very negative psychological effect on the market. Please forgive me for yet another one of my neanderthal oversimplifications.
Why would you need forgiveness, or even an indulgence? There was an Oct. 2008 poll (the nadir of the Fannie/Freddie crisis) that showed investor confidence could be immediately restored by perp walks; namely, Dodd, Bahwney, Biden, et al. You have never seen the MSM bury a poll quicker in your lifetime.