Vick Pleads Guilty!!!!!!

ORIGINAL: snownose

I remember his original statement read by his lawyer, be patient and let him clear his "Good Name"[sm=idea.gif][sm=idea.gif][sm=idea.gif]

Maybe he an OJ can work together on their "good names"   []

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8

ORIGINAL: snownose

I remember his original statement read by his lawyer, be patient and let him clear his "Good Name"[sm=idea.gif][sm=idea.gif][sm=idea.gif]

Maybe he an OJ can work together on their "good names"   []

should make for some good reading if they write a book together.

should make for some good reading if they write a book together.

 
 
Tja.......hopefully, someone will beat the crap out of vick.............(vick doesn't deserve to have his name spelled with a capital letter), he is a dirtbag after all.............[sm=vomit03.gif]

Unfortunately he's pled guilty to far LESSER crimes.  "conspiracy" is tantamount to "we talked about it" not "I did it".  NOR is it racketeering or gambling charges which would get him a lifetime ban from the NFL.  The gambling charges were what I was hoping for.
 
Unfortunately as heinous as the slaughter is that has been going on, it's NOT a federal crime.  Nor is it any kind of a state crime in Georgia.  Dogs are property.  Pure and simple.  You can kill one if you want to.
 
It's that way in MOST states, folks -- and No, I'm not saying that's 'good'.  I'm saying that's the law.  It's morally horrible but it's not illegal. 
 
This is where you and I come in -- making your wants and wishes KNOWN to the government.  This is why breed banning slips in SO easy -- because it's just like outlawing dark window tint on your car -- that's about what most people 'see' it as.  (druggies have dark window tint = bad, druggies have pit bulls = bad -- get my analogy??)
 
It's up to US to educate people differently.  The ASPCA is trying -- they actually have a new CIS unit that's only been around about a year.  I heard the woman speak who is their lead vet when I was up at Gainesville a couple of weeks ago.  The only way they can get any kind of a steep conviction is to go for the federal charges (like gambling) because cruelty is just such a small, almost insignificant part of it and it carries virtually NO steep sentence and he won't even have to wince as he strolls back into his lifestyle. 
 
They have to be able to proved how LONG this went on -- not just that a, b, c happened on one particular date.  But that there was a pattern of longevity here AND that Vick was truly involved and knew about it for the whole duration. 
 
The thing to hope for is that the gambling charges  STICK.  Shoot -- tax evasion brought down Al Capone, and that's one of the things on the back burner for this as well I'm sure. 
 
At this point with public figures, all they have to do is hang their head for 2 seconds and say "gee gosh golly -- I fell in with a wrong crowd and lost my head -- I sowwy!!!" and everyone's willing to give them all sorts of chances.
 
And honestly -- my boss (an attorney) said to me today "The thing that really disgusts me in all of this -- not to downplay how truly awful these things are that were done to these dogs ... but at LEAST there is public outcry about this ... how many of these guys are regularly beating their wives and getting away with it??  The fact that people don't get upset about THAT really bothers!!"
 
He's right -- it's ALL heinous. 
And frankly it boils my gut to know that hoping for a conviction on something like gambling -- which is a non-violent 'thing' in and of itself -- is the ONLY way to bring someone like this down.  But the truly morally reprehensible stuff just isn't "illegal" -- and it SHOULD be. 
 
My hope is that in bringing this stuff to light it will be easier for individual states to make better laws.  Just be aware that he's pleading 'guilty' to far far FAR FAR reduced charges.  Barely a slap on the wrist. 

ORIGINAL: calliecritturs

Unfortunately he's pled guilty to far LESSER crimes.  "conspiracy" is tantamount to "we talked about it" not "I did it".  NOR is it racketeering or gambling charges which would get him a lifetime ban from the NFL.  The gambling charges were what I was hoping for.

Unfortunately as heinous as the slaughter is that has been going on, it's NOT a federal crime.  Nor is it any kind of a state crime in Georgia.  Dogs are property.  Pure and simple.  You can kill one if you want to.

Dog fighting is a state crime in Georgia and 47 other states.  .

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/dogfighting_statelaws.pdf

Their sure playing up the fact that Vick and the two guys that plea bargained before him killed eight dogs that couldn't "pass the test!"   
There is so much against him,,, I can't see him playing football for a while if ever.

Hey guys, don't give up faith yet.  From what I've read they're only prosecuting him so far for transporting dogs across state lines for gambling, which is a felony.  They've not even begun anything on his cruelty case.  I'm hoping the prosecuting attorney is letting him plead quilty to this so he can't weasel out of the cruelty charges later on. 
 
Hoping hoping hoping. 
 
 
Too bad it's not legal to do to him what I'd like to do.  [sm=evilfire.gif][sm=devil.gif][sm=beatdeadhorse.gif][sm=angry.gif][sm=flamethrower.gif]

Don't worry guys.....once he goes to jail he will face the dog lovers and football jock haters......this will provide a very exciting situation....[sm=eek.gif][sm=drinking47.gif]

Don't worry guys.....once he goes to jail he will face the dog lovers and football jock haters..

 
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,well thats a great thought...until they put him in a special place...with special conditons because of his special title!!!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,well thats a great thought...until they put him in a special place...with special conditons because of his special title!!!

 
 
I hope that doesn't happen, but you might be right.............so......I am hoping for the worst possible situation for this nasty person[sm=vomit03.gif][sm=vomit03.gif]

I suspect that he will get a "fine" (say $10,000--peanuts to a guy with the income he has had in the past few years--akin to you and me paying a parking ticket) and community service.  I HOPE HOPE HOPE I am wrong.

If he IS convicted, I hope they put him in with the boys who watch for when the guy next to them drops his soap...[sm=evilfire.gif][sm=2cents.gif]

I got a lot of information from that vet who spoke at UF 3 weeks ago.  She was asked point blank if she was 'involved' in the Vick case and her answer was "I can ONLY speak about cases that have been completely adjudicated and are OVER" ... then she went on very very very specifically to tell us exactly what crimes are and are NOT truly prosecutable. 
 
She couldn't say a thing about the Vick case, but she said a whole lot about what you have to be able to prove (particularly in Georgia) in order to be able to sustain a conviction.  To be guilty of dog-fighting -- they'll likely have to put him THERE "beyond reasonable doubt" when there was a fight going on that was being bet upon.  Getting a prosecution will be astronomically high odds.  Being accused or even having charges brought are a far cry from getting a guilty verdict and sentence.
 
This has been so 'high profile' -- and none of that counts (particularly not in a good way).  In order to get a conviction that will stick they have to be able to prove things like 'intent' and 'foreknowledge' ... not just that he owned the land and had the wrong friends. 
 
The other really interesting thing she pointed out truly does make sense.  So much depends on who the judge is.  I've been a legal secretary for almost 20 years and I've worked in everything from litigation to real estate and from small claims court to federal stuff.  There are *some* cases you know before it even gets to court if it's going to slide thru or not.   Federal judges have their position for life -- much like the supreme court.  They don't have to worry about public support.
 
She made the comment about one of the 'closed' cases she could tell us about that one judge, in particular, was seemingly immune to some of the cruelty aspects (even the actual wounds on some of the dogs' bodies) and yet she was completely angered that this facility (which was accused os very very similar stuff to the Vick case -- dogs being bred and trained and "culled" for fighting, and in fact, starved to get them to turn aggressive to see which ones would actually 'survive' to fight) -- that this facility where they found MANY puppies, had no puppy food in stock.  The food that was there was all adult food and completely ant-ridden. 
 
Now you'd have thought the judge would have been angered at the 'abuse' and injuries on the dogs?  Nope -- the telling point in that case was that the judge literally went 'off' in the courtroom because this was a facility which was to kennel dogs and wasn't providing "adequate food and shelter" -- meaning, because there wasn't puppy food that was edible there was inadequate food ... ergo 'guilty' to her.
 
My point is -- apparently sometimes it's these small facts, in a case carefully 'built' that will hopefully carry the day.  But unfortunately, altho I'd love to see this guy used to mop his own kennels (head down in stong solvent) it's going to be a very difficult case to win and I've no doubt that there is serious consideration given to the plea bargaining being done here.  Likely to preserve as much of the case as possible and still 'get him' on something that will realistically accomplish something of merit.

ORIGINAL: snownose

Don't worry guys.....once he goes to jail he will face the dog lovers and football jock haters......this will provide a very exciting situation....[sm=eek.gif][sm=drinking47.gif]

I was talking to some football fans-dog owners last night at the dog park, and a few of them said that they thought that Vick would probably be treated as a hero in jail because of his wealth.  I hope they are wrong....

I never really thought of jail as the kind of place where the thug lifestyle is particularily looked down upon by the other inmates. I think he'll be a hero in there.

Good comment in local paper

Vick had it all — except character By [linkhttp://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2007/08/20/vick_had_it_all.html#postcomment]Jeff Schultz[/link] | Monday, August 20, 2007, 08:35 PM The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz

He owned a team. He owned a city. He owned a league. He spit on all of it. Everything and everyone. This isn't a time for apologies, unless your name is Michael Vick. No excuses, no alibis. This didn't happen because of bad friends today or a bad family situation as a youth or the pursuit of some ravenous and misdirected and racist media. An icon has just lost his freedom and possibly his career, and it's not because Michael Vick is a great guy who made one bad decision. He is flawed. Not a little, but deeply. People of great character make bad decisions and rebound. They don't fund and operate an illegal operation whose primary functions are to fight and kill dogs. They don't go through life always deflecting blame on friends or family. They grow up. Michael Vick never grew up. He probably never felt he had to.

He is as wonderful an athlete as we've ever seen. But he was flawed on the field, the residual of poor work habits and laziness. He got away with it because coaches and surrounding yes-men let him, and all the money in the world apparently couldn't buy him a decent mirror. He owned this town with his smile. But he was flawed off the field. So many people have said Vick is not a bad guy, but they miss the point. Somebody doesn't have to be a bad guy to do awful things. When somebody in a position of power is immature, arrogant and just plain stupid, it's a lethal combination. He lied. Easy and often. He lied to the owner of the franchise who gave him a $130 million contract and the platform to earn millions more. He lied to the commissioner of the most powerful sports empire on earth. He lied to you, the people who defended him and adored him and bought his jerseys. He lied, probably because it worked before and he saw no reason to change. He thought he could skate. Why wouldn't he? It happened after the water bottle incident in Miami, which devolved into a great tap dance by Vick and the Falcons organization. Rather than show appreciation to authorities and accept that he got away lucky, Vick suggested the police tried to frame him. That didn't go over well in Miami or Flowery Branch. He flipped off a crowd but figured people would forgive him quickly. Many didn't. He allegedly transmitted an STD to a woman, but he and his attorney didn't move quickly to bury the matter and settle the case, probably because he figured she would disappear. She didn't. The result was talk-show lampooning and what some in the Falcons' front office viewed as a permanent defect. He lied about missing flights for testimony before Congress, incorrectly thinking that his endorsement company (AirTran) wouldn't throw him under the plane. Oops. Nike. How do you become so tarnished that you lose Nike? Vick seldom took the blame when things went wrong. But it was so easy to blame coaches, wasn't it? Dan Reeves. Jim Mora. Greg Knapp. Do you feel for them a little more today? Such a wonder as an athlete. Such a catastrophe as a leader.

So many people have wanted to make this about race and not the individual. ESPN recently explored Atlanta's racial divide on this and several issues, dating to the Civil Rights era. But in doing so, its Web site juxtaposed photos of Vick with the likes of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Ralph David Abernathy, as if they were somehow equals, either in morals or objectives. Michael Vick and Martin Luther King — are you kidding? "Not guilty,” Vick said three weeks ago. "I have a dream,” King said, a week short of 44 years ago, "that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This isn't the case of a person with great character jumping the track with one bad decision. A six-year operation does not constitute one bad decision. So many other incidents don't constitute one bad decision. Betraying those who trusted you, particularly owner Arthur Blank, does not constitute one bad decision. We've seen great athletes throw away careers before. Drugs, spousal abuse, a general attitude of feeling above the law. We've never seen somebody blow so much over something so dumb. But all are symptoms of the same thing — serious defects. Judge Michael Vick by the content of his character. And what he just spit on. [linkhttp://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2007/08/20/vick_had_it_all.html]Permalink[/link] | | Categories: [linkhttp://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/falcons_nfl/]Falcons / NFL[/link], [linkhttp://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/jeff_schultz/]Jeff Schultz[/link]