Plaxico Agrees To Two Year Jail Term

We do not punish harshly for "what if" crimes, we punish harshly for actual crimes. Just like a first DUI offender gets more of a slap on the wrist...but IF he killed someone (and his name was not stallworth) he'd go to jail for a LOOOONG time. There are all sorts of "what if" scenarios. We ALL speed, so "what if" we sped and lost control and hit someone? We would be punish MUCH more severely than if we got a speeding ticket.

Punish the crime, not the potential crime.
Nice post Sir :)

I essentially agree with you. Killing should be punished much more harshly than potential killing. The point I was trying to make is hidden in your comments, though. Notice that we do punish drunk drivers, even if they don't injure anyone, on the principle that they could have. We do, in fact, punish potential crimes, because that is what drunk driving laws are all about.

I absolutely agree with you, but remember you only lose your license for a little while, and usually serve NO jail time if you get a DUI...but if you had a DUI AND killed someone, you're put away for a while. What I am saying is, the guy that doesn't hurt anyone, or kill anyone with a DUI get's punished, but very lightly. Plax deserved to be punished VERY LIGHTLY. Community service, or even a week or two in jail. Not 2 years and end his career. What is he gonna do when he gets out? There is no way the punishment fits the crime in this case. No way.

You keep forgeting one very important fact,the victim..."contributory negligence"(there is a vidio). There was no malice by Sallworth(stupidity,yes)....he can do more good for the Family of the victim out of jail then in it.

I'm confused...how was there malice with Plaxico? You are implying he deserves this punishment due to his malicious intent, but he didn't have malicious intent.
Plaxico could have done many public service announcements too, and been a poster for everyone. Putting him in jail really doesn't dissuade athletes from doing this. They will continue to carry guns. They will just have to be more careful of the dumb laws in NY.

I agree that the sentence seems a little harsh.. but... wasn't Plax aware of the law in New York? Even if he wasn't, ignorance is no excuse to a judge and it was my understanding that there is a mandatory sentence if found guilty. Is this incorrect?

53 Fan:

You are correct! If found guilty at trial there was a mandatory minimum sentence of 42 months in jail staring at him. (That is 3.5 years in case anyone's calculator isn't working.)

The charge was carrying an unregistered concealed handgun. No charges involving injuries or intentions or any of that feelgood stuff were on the table. What Burress would have had to show a jury beyond a reasonable doubt was that he was not carrying an unregistered handgun that night.

Go back and read the press reports and you will see why his lawyer said the case was almost indefensible. And so he "got off easy" with only a 2 year plea deal; if he had continued to pretend he was innocent - - meaning he never did carry an unregistered handgun in NYC - - he would probably have done 42 months in the slammer.

Comparing Burress' sentence to Stallworth's or Leonard Little's or Michael Vick's or even OJ's is comparing apples to oranges. They were charged with different crimes in different jurisdictions with different sentencing structures surrounding potential convictions.

Sidenote: The Colts lead the Iggles 23-7 with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

I agree that the sentence seems a little harsh.. but... wasn't Plax aware of the law in New York? Even if he wasn't, ignorance is no excuse to a judge and it was my understanding that there is a mandatory sentence if found guilty. Is this incorrect?

Yes, you are correct...but how come there isn't a "mandatory sentence" for killing someone will intoxicated? Maybe there was and it was ignored...not sure...but I find it odd there is such a law to avoid guns, but not if you kill someone.

I agree that the sentence seems a little harsh.. but... wasn't Plax aware of the law in New York? Even if he wasn't, ignorance is no excuse to a judge and it was my understanding that there is a mandatory sentence if found guilty. Is this incorrect?

Good point, and it speaks to a question that I've always had about the case: why didn't Burress register the gun? If he wants heat for protection, then fine, register the gun and make it legal. It's not like he couldn't afford a gun license.

It also seems to me that if he wanted protection, a bodyguard would have been a better choice than packing heat.

Well there are varying conditions to killing someone while intoxicated. Did being intoxicated directly lead to the persons death? I'm sure Stallworth got a DUI but did his being intoxicated lead to that mans death? There is no doubt whatsoever that Plax broke the law. None. I think your biggest gripe is that for the laws Plax broke, the punishment is too severe in New York. That may be, but that's the way the people of New York want it. If you steal in Iran you may get your hand cut off. Severe? Yes. But that's the law so it's probably not a good idea to steal there.

Good point, and it speaks to a question that I've always had about the case: why didn't Burress register the gun? If he wants heat for protection, then fine, register the gun and make it legal. It's not like he couldn't afford a gun license.

It also seems to me that if he wanted protection, a bodyguard would have been a better choice than packing heat.

It all boils down to what kind of person he is. Obviously he should have registered the gun. Obviously it's smarter to hire security than go in strapped by yourself. Also, it's obvious he should care about his teammates and coaches, showing up on time, practicing, etc etc. Otherwise he wouldn't have been fined dozens of times.

He did none of the above. He's a selfish, arrogant jerk.

As someone pointed out earlier, there's a reason the Steelers let him walk and didn't bat an eye (or miss a beat for that matter).