Jury Instructions Made Honig’s Conviction Inevitable, Wife Says

Nancy Honig has broken a long silence to blame the conviction of her husband, former state schools chief Bill Honig, on jury instructions that made a guilty verdict inevitable.

“I was absolutely shocked by the verdict,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle in an article published Saturday. “But I would have voted the same way as the jury. You didn’t have a choice.”

It was the first time she has spoken out since Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren began a criminal investigation into conflict-of-interest allegations against Honig two years ago.

She did not elaborate on her criticism of the judge’s instructions, other than to say they imposed overly narrow constraints on the jury. The instructions’ legality is believed to be the basis of Honig’s appeal.

Honig was convicted Jan. 29 on felony charges for assigning state employees to work with the Quality Education Project at the same time Nancy Honig, who founded the nonprofit company, collected a $108,000 salary.

The state’s schools chief since 1982, Honig was placed on four years probation and ordered to pay nearly $350,000 in salary reimbursements and fines. Honig’s supporters have said the case was politically motivated.

Nancy Honig told the interviewer that her salary was fair, but regrets taking any money because of the harm it did to her husband.

“I certainly hurt my husband being involved in education,” she said. “If I were in health care, I don’t think he would be having these problems.”

Nancy Honig, who has degrees in business and anthropology, resigned from QEP last year as the scandal intensified. She is trying to market a similar program in Mexico.