12-12-2007, 03:46 PM
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 Re: Vick's sentence: 23 months
Quote:
Vick spit on the legal system
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
December 10, 2007
The failed drug test alone was inexplicable. Just 17 days after promising to avoid drugs and alcohol, Vick smoked marijuana. The next day he took a drug test, which he failed, and then lied to an investigator about taking drugs.
Then there were Vick's "deception" with federal authorities, at least six such acts according to U.S. Attorney Michael Gill, even after the suspended Atlanta Falcon had agreed to fully cooperate.
Vick, for instance, initially refused to admit he took part in the hanging of a dog. He claimed instead that he carried the underperforming dog over to co-conspirator Quanis Phillips, who then hung him. But Phillips had stated that Vick had carried the dog over and after Phillips slipped a noose around its neck, Vick let the dog drop.
"He denied having hands on involvement in killing the dogs," Gill said. "He made a false statement; it was a calculated effort to hide the truth."
Gill said Vick eventually admitted to killing two dogs, "one by drowning, one by hanging."
There was also a failed lie detector test which, while not admissible as evidence, obviously angered Gill who argued (successfully) against any leniency.
Vick's repeated performances were apparently so twisted, confusing and inconsistent that everyone wound up believing his codefendants over him, despite the fact they have lengthy criminal records.
"These statements are inconsistent with statements by his codefendants," Hudson ruled. "(Vick) hasn't demonstrated the necessary level of candor."
If Vick had fully cooperated, told the truth and kept clear of drugs, he could have received as little as 12 months, which with good behavior could have seen him free by next September.
Instead he got longer sentences than either of his two former partners (18 and 21 months) despite their prior records and direct responsibilities with Bad Newz Kennels.
Given every opportunity to make up for his dog-fighting crimes, to live up to his word, to prove to everyone that this was just a lapse in judgment of a good man, he did just about everything wrong.
| Vick spit on the legal system - NFL - Yahoo! Sports   |