And to finish today's sports trifecta, a serious NFL question

[the_archfiend]

This is not intended to be a slam against anybody who's sickened by cruelty to animals (I happen to be one of those who is), but riddle me this:

Who's worse: this guy. who ended up spending a year and a half in prison for fighting dogs, or this guy, who got into a car while he was loaded and ended up killing another human being?

Discuss. And while you're at it, consider this idiot. He only shot himself and is, paradoxically, facing a longer sentence than what the other two idiots served combined.

Comments

intent matters

[surburbcowboy.livejournal.com]

Not that I want to defend the other guy... but the dogfight ringleader intended that dogs die (multiple times). He also gambled large amounts of money on the fights (multiple times). And he had people working with/for him (bringing up RICO charges).

The other guy is facing manslaughter charges rather than murder because he did not intend to harm anyone else. And thankfully, drunk drivers do not harm anyone every time they're on the road.

Re: intent matters

[the-archfiend.livejournal.com]

Points taken. As stated before, it's not like Vick gets a free pass from me for being a dogfighting wackjob; it's just that Stallworth ended up essentially *skating* for what should be vehicular homicide (24 days? *24 days*?).

Re: intent matters

[surburbcowboy.livejournal.com]

It also appears there are some mitigating circumstances in Stallworth's favor. The police at the time did not think Stallworth was impaired. Also the victim was in a location he should not have been. It's possible that the accident may have been unavoidable.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/145255-donte-stallworth-accident-report-important-for-what-it-does-not-show


FYI: I'm shocked to find out that vechicular homicide is generally considered less serious that manslaughter.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide)

third guy

[surburbcowboy.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that the NYC district attorney's office has a reputation for talking tough against famous people. I assume it's to set an example. I have a hard time believing they sentence everyone that severely for gun possession.

Consider what happened to Martha Stewart.

Re: third guy

[the-archfiend.livejournal.com]

Burress (sp.?) would, to be fair, be bait for *any* (make an "example out of 'em"-minded DA; that being said, the only damn thing he did was act like a typical amateur/rich gangsta wannabe in sticking that gun in a place it could've gone off so easily; considering how short America's Favorite (?) Skank Paris Hilton spent in the pokey for what *she* did (read: not long at all), you've gotta wonder.

Re: third guy

[surburbcowboy.livejournal.com]

Plaxico is being charged with criminal possession of a weapon. The maximum prison time is 3.5 years; but seems the actual sentence will be between 1 and 2 years.

Burress report: http://www.scoresreport.com/tag/plaxico-burress-trial/

BTW: I'm not exactly sure what Paris did. This CNN article says she was jailed for driving on a suspended liscense. The original suspension was because of "alcohol-related reckless driving" but I don't know if that's California legal-speak for DUI or some lesser charge.

CNN report on Paris: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/07/paris.hilton/index.html