[Editor's Note: Martha Stewart made the following statement outside the courthouse following her sentencing on Friday morning.]

I'd like to make a brief statement.

This is a shameful day. It's shameful for me and for my family, and for my beloved company, and for all of its employees and partners.

What was a small personal matter became over the last 2 years an almost fatal circus event of unprecedented proportions.

I have been choked and almost suffocated to death during that time, all the while more concerned about the well being of others than for myself. More hurt for them and for their losses than for my own. More worried for their futures than for the future of Martha Stewart the person.

More than 200 people have lost their jobs at my company, as a result of this situation. I want them to know how very very sorry I am, for them and their families.

Martha Stewart comments on her sentencing, encourages supporters to continue buying her products, and promises to be back. Play video (Real or Windows Media)

I would like to thank everybody who stood by me, who wished me well, waved to me on the street like these lovely people over here, smiled at me, called me, wrote to me. We received thousands of support letters and more than 170,000 e-mails to marthatalks.com. And I appreciate each and every one of those pieces of correspondence. I really feel good about it.

Perhaps all of you out there can continue to show your support by subscribing to our magazine, by buying our products, by encouraging our advertisers to come back in full force to our magazine.

Our magazines are great. They deserve your support. And whatever happened to me personally shouldn't have any effect whatsoever on the great company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

And I don't want to use this as a sales pitch for my company, but we love that company, we worked so hard on that company. And we really think it merits great attention from the American public.

And I'll be back. I will be back.

Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly.

I'm used to all kinds of hard work, as you know, and I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid whatsoever. I'm just very very sorry that it's come to this, that a small personal matter has been able to be blown out of all proportion, and with such venom and such gore. I mean it's just terrible.

We are going to appeal, so I'm not going to talk about the case. I want to thank Bob Morvillo and his whole team for doing the very best job they could do in defending me.