You don't believe he did the things he was convicted of? You don't believe he knowingly hired illegals? You don't believe he participated in falsifying their documents?
I believe that there were illegal aliens working there; nearly 400 were arrested in the raid. I don’t know how involved Rubashkin himself was in their hiring, since this never came to trial and the judge herself elided between hiring illegals and conspiring to do so (which could involve setting the conditions that make it possible to do so).
I believe he was involved in falsifying the bring-down certificates by falsifying accounts receivable.
My belief is irrelevant, though. The point of this specific post was that he made a judgment to contest the charges, but I am sure never expected the prosecutors to seek a lifetime in prison upon his being found guilty.
Moreover, my basic point is that the sentence is grossly disproportionate. He was convicted of bank fraud based on falsely certifying that the company had not violated the law when it had. The company should have been prosecuted for hiring illegal aliens and the bank should have sued him for making up false financial statements. It is not justified to send him to jail for the rest of his life based on the company having been in violation of the law when he certified to his bank that the company was in compliance with the law.
I am appalled by the sentence, not the conviction.