She got to live a few years as a billionaire. She could easily get a normal, non-executive job like 99% of Americans after this. I think most people would take

She got to live a few years as a billionaire. She could easily get a normal, non-executive job like 99% of Americans after this. I think most people would take a lifetime of "humiliation" if they got to live an unreasonably extravagant life for a while then return to an upper middle class lifestyle, occasionally having news articles written about them until it all fades away completely after 5-10 years. A sentence of "humiliation" would only make scams like Theranos a more appealing idea to many people. And frankly, if someone could go so deep with a scam like Theranos, I don't think they/Holmes have much of a sense of shame to begin with. They'll justify their fraud to the very end.