Happy trails, Mike Vick

by Skin Patrol on Jul 18, 2007 12:17 PM EDT in News Comment 3 comments

Update [2007-7-18 12:20:36 by Skin Patrol]: Hat tip to The Falcoholic; A Suspension is likely on the way.

We're not going to dwell on this story as it isn't Redskins related, but is big enough to warrant a post. If this story fascinates you, please check out The Falcoholic, as he is no doubt married to this story for the forseeable future. Poor guy.

Vick Indicted:

NFL star Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation so grisly the losers either died in the pit or sometimes were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot.

A conviction likely means jail time:

Would Vick be sent to jail if he is convicted?

Yes. It's hard to imagine any other outcome. The charges are serious, and the evidence against Vick presented at trial will be nasty. The government's case includes evidence that Vick and his cohorts "tested" pit bulls for ferocity. If the dogs failed the test, the indictment charges, they were executed by hanging or drowning. In one case, with Vick present, the indictment says a dog was slammed to the ground until it was dead. In another incident, a dog was soaked with a hose and then electrocuted. Those aren't the sort of transgressions that lead to probation and community service. It's the kind of behavior that results in punishment, and the punishment will be jail time.

How likely is a conviction? Hat tip to Who The Hell Is Mel Kiper for finding the relevant statistics complements your Federal Government. Full 2005 report available here, though I'm happy to provide the most recent statistics available for convictions:

In 2002 80,424 people were charged in Federal Courts. 71,798 were convicted. 53,682 saw jail time. Corresponding rates of conviction and jail time are 89.2% and 66.7% respectively, though the latter is probably low in Vick's case, given the nature of the crime.

Aloha means goodbye.

Running Redskins, United States of America v. Ookie

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If Vick was involved like this article suggests

They should slam his head to the ground a few times.Now im not calling him guilty but if evidence comes about at trial that people could place him their when these things were going on and he was involved ,I would be outraged if he got ANY lienency! People who do this stuff are sick BASTARDS And I dont care what state their from! The states that still do allow this to go on need to realize we are in different century and get caught up with the times!

by Sincethebeginning on Jul 18, 2007 2:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

AHHHHHH!

IT MAKES ME COMPLETELY IRATE THAT PLAYERS ARE SUSPENDED FOR MUCH LESS THAN BEING PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW. THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION AND LEGAL SPECUALTAION IS MORE THAN ENOUGH. NEVERMIND THAT I'VE HAD TOO MUCH WINE AND AM ABOUT TO GET MORE...Now, if Vick is guilty, especially of the crimes of electracuting dogs, or beating them to death, I am fully in support of banning him from anything remotely dealing with the NFL. That is truly reprehensible. However, I am neither for nor against dog fighting, I simply don't care. I have a pretty big hunch that Vick is involved-more than a little bit-and it will come out as the many players involved try to save themselves. I won't bother explaining how many red flags go off for those who partake in forms of animal cruelty, in terms of potential mental health issues ( used to work with special cases when I was in corrections, to include sex offenders) but was truly appalled by the allegations made against vick and his comrades.

I'm gonna go get some more wine...

by JustinU804 on Jul 18, 2007 8:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs