Is 50 years in prison too much for stealing secrets?

William C. Foreman, 60, and his attorney Jack Crawford think a 50 year sentence is too stiff for "stealing secrets from the Hoosier Lottery in a effort to rig a million-dollar scratch-off game."

Foreman was the alleged informant for two Shelby County men, Chad R. Adkins and Daniel J. Foltz, who then purchased the winning $2 million dollars scratch off ticket from Otter's Grocery in Cross Plains in 2004.

Foreman was an official with the Hoosier Lottery at the time and had inside access to the whereabouts of the winning tickets.

Jury trial for Foreman is set for March 20 and his attorney says proposing a 50-year sentence is way too much. He noted that far more serious crimes such as attempted murder, kidnapping, etc. are in that category.

In a memorandum of law filed in Marion Superior Court, it notes that 39 states have lotteries, but Indiana is the only one with such a stiff penalty. Crawford has filed a motion to dismiss the felony charge against his client.

According to an article in The Indianapolis Star, Esther Q. Schneider, the state's top lottery official, wants the stiff penalty to deter others who might be thinking about defrauding the Hoosier Lottery. She is quoted as saying, "They need to go for the throat."

Both Adkins and Foltz agreed to plead guilty and will testify against Foreman. They will be sentenced on April 11.

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