More Bad News For Vick - Co Defendents To Plea (1 Viewer)

[j3r3m3y]

A single count of the interstate commerce / conspiracy charge brought against Vick carries a 5 year sentence. Facts: Vick is guilty. Vick is going to jail, under a sentence of several years. Vick will never, ever, ever, ever play in the NFL again. Ever.

If you are correct, then he could be out of jail in as early as two years with good behavior.I don't think he would be "over the hill" at that point... :dunno:

That's 2 years per count. If he is convicted it will be awhile before he sleeps outside razor wire.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I only see one count on the indictment, Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture. Is he going to be charged with more counts -- will RICO come into play? I was under the impression that it already had. If it's just that one count, then he won't be looking at more than 3-5 years.

 

[j3r3m3y]

I only see one count on the indictment, Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture. Is he going to be charged with more counts -- will RICO come into play? I was under the impression that it already had. If it's just that one count, then he won't be looking at more than 3-5 years.

I don't remember where I read it but I read they are planning to refile. The original indictment was before one of his buddies flipped. Now that all 3 have I imagine they will be amending with several more charges.edit. I am not a lawyer, just have too much time at work sometimes.

 

[djcolts]

On CNN.com right now:

Michael Vick is negotiating a deal for a plea bargain in his dogfighting case, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

AJC Link

 

[tietzjd]

A single count of the interstate commerce / conspiracy charge brought against Vick carries a 5 year sentence. Facts: Vick is guilty. Vick is going to jail, under a sentence of several years. Vick will never, ever, ever, ever play in the NFL again. Ever.

If you are correct, then he could be out of jail in as early as two years with good behavior.I don't think he would be "over the hill" at that point... :dunno:

Ok do you want Mike Vick playing for your home team? Do you want to go games that have 100's of protesters every week?Does the NFL want to stain their Image Like that?If Vick takes any plea he is done in the NFL. He will have admitted to Killing dogs, Gambling across state lines and telling lies to the commissioner and the public.

 

[j3r3m3y]

I only see one count on the indictment, Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture. Is he going to be charged with more counts -- will RICO come into play? I was under the impression that it already had. If it's just that one count, then he won't be looking at more than 3-5 years.

I don't remember where I read it but I read they are planning to refile. The original indictment was before one of his buddies flipped. Now that all 3 have I imagine they will be amending with several more charges.edit. I am not a lawyer, just have too much time at work sometimes.

From the CNN link:Vick's motivation to enter a guilty plea is likely fueled by the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement last month that it will seek a new "superseding" indictment against Vick by the end of August. With the cooperation of Vick's three co-defendants, there will likely be new, and more specific, allegations against Vick. The federal grand jury in Richmond is expected to hand up that indictment sometime early next week.

 

[BigJim®]

I still think the dudes that flipped on him are evil, and even moreso than Vick.

Obviously you have all the information you need to reach this conclusion since you've seen Vick play football.

 

[Captain_Apocalypse]

OK, so correct me if I'm wrong, but if he takes a plea deal doesn't that mean he would have to cooperate with the feds on something? Like maybe identifying or leading them to some of the other "high rollers" in his dog fighting/gambeling circle? I mean sure Vick was maybe a ring leader of one small part of a larger operation that is taking place in multiple states and involving large sums of money. How do you think his dogfighting pals will feel about him when the feds show up on their doorsteps with search warrents? If he doesn't take the fall here he could have a lot more to worry about when he gets out of prison than just wether or not he will be able to play ball again. I for one would not want to deal with a bunch of pissed of gangster dog fighters.

 

[DLeo]

Is there any word on the length of the prison sentence in the plea? I have a hard time seeing why it would be less than 4 years. I admittedly haven't followed this story much, but I thought he was looking at at least one count that led to a six year prison sentence, and the case was pretty strong for the government. I don't see why the government would offer much of a plea, or why people are saying Vick will be playing next year.At this point, it seems very, very likely that Vick will be spending Christmas '08 in prison, and possibly several more after that.

Do you know of any previous cases of dogfighting and what the sentences were?I'm curious as i can't imagine someone getting 4 years for that kind of crime.If he takes a plea i'd bet it's for under 1 year, most likely 6 months or something.

No way in the world are they letting him off with a year or less...the out cry from the public would be worse than it has been already if they ever dare try to let him off so cheap...I have to think the offer right now is 3-5 in with doing at least ALL THRE YEARS IN JAIL at a minimim. Forget about this one year or under thing...no way thats hapening here. If it did i would lose any and all trust in our criminal justive system..dam it what justice would it be for Vick to be out in public in 6 months??? The guys who flipped are gonna do more than that i bet!

 

[AnonymousBob]

Wow, whole lot of assumptions being tossed about this thread.

 

[Hugonel]

I do know this, though - the guys who flipped are the lowest level of dirtbag out there, because even if you could somehow rationalize the dog thing as being "just dogs", they flipped on their friend. If Vick goes to prison, I wouldn't blame him for spending a hundred grand or so making sure that the things he doesn't want happening to him DO happen to those guys, because they've ruined his life.

I don't think that's a fair assessment of Vick's co-defendants. You don't know their situations, their level of cupability, their family life, nor the extent of their relationship with Vick. They could have families that depend on them not being in jail, and shaving 10 years off your sentence will make a big difference in your children's lives. They could be far less culpable than Vick and unwilling to risk the immense prison sentence that goes along with being Vick's co-conspirator. Also, they probably don't have access to a sophisticated legal defense team and may even be following their lawyer's advice in taking the plea bargain. I also have no doubt that Vick's defense team wouldn't hesitate to throw each of these guys under the bus in order to defend Vick -- and I also believe that Vick wouldn't stop them from doing so.You profess a mafia code of ethics that is popular in the movies and television, but reality is far different. I'm not advocating that one should always "flip" on a friend when it is to that person's benefit, but when it rises to the level of going to prison (and in this case, a significant amount of prison time), I think the reality is that every person must do what is in the best interest of their children, wife and other family -- and a true friend would understand.

And isn't this the same Vick who is blaming everybody else?? Why on earth would they go to the mattresses for the guy?

 

[Wilbur Wood]

OK, so correct me if I'm wrong, but if he takes a plea deal doesn't that mean he would have to cooperate with the feds on something? Like maybe identifying or leading them to some of the other "high rollers" in his dog fighting/gambeling circle? I mean sure Vick was maybe a ring leader of one small part of a larger operation that is taking place in multiple states and involving large sums of money. How do you think his dogfighting pals will feel about him when the feds show up on their doorsteps with search warrents? If he doesn't take the fall here he could have a lot more to worry about when he gets out of prison than just wether or not he will be able to play ball again. I for one would not want to deal with a bunch of pissed of gangster dog fighters.

I believe that there is a distinction between "a plea bargain and cooperating with authorities" which is what Vick's ex-buddies are doing VS. a simple "plea bargain". The former is of much greater value and will result in the maximum reduction of charges and the least amount of jail time. The latter is a game of poker --- the Feds/prosecuters all would like to forego a trial (cost to taxpayers and the risk of a rogue juror mucking up even the strongest of cases) and thus they will "show their hand" (at least a good part of it) and "negotiate" with someone like Vick but they won't let him get away with a token sentence. For example, if the max jail time (with the future threat of additional RICO charges) would be ~ 15 years, they may accept a plea bargain with Vick to plead guility to a couple of the outstanding charges in exchange for a 3 year sentence (with no parole earlier than after 2 years served). This type of plea bargan requires no "cooperation" from Vick to finger anyone else.

 

[mad sweeney]

OK, so correct me if I'm wrong, but if he takes a plea deal doesn't that mean he would have to cooperate with the feds on something? Like maybe identifying or leading them to some of the other "high rollers" in his dog fighting/gambeling circle? I mean sure Vick was maybe a ring leader of one small part of a larger operation that is taking place in multiple states and involving large sums of money. How do you think his dogfighting pals will feel about him when the feds show up on their doorsteps with search warrents? If he doesn't take the fall here he could have a lot more to worry about when he gets out of prison than just wether or not he will be able to play ball again. I for one would not want to deal with a bunch of pissed of gangster dog fighters.

You can plea down without rolling on anyone. You save everybody time by pleading guilty to lesser charges or for lesser punishment instead of dragging it to a trial and possibly facing maximum sentencing. In Vick's case, if found guilty a jury sentencing guideline would probably be pretty harsh for such an emotionally charged crime. So pleading is not always about giving up someone higher than you. It's about risk managemnet, accepting lesser punishment when you know your chances of escaping scot free are slim to none.

 

[StuntRock]

The feds shouldn't want Vick convicted any more than they want the rest of the defendants, but they're plea bargaining with the least famous ones. That's just wrong.

Hi fred,But we don't know that they aren't negotiating with the Vick team do we?It could be that the other guys are the only guys taking the deals. Right?J

Yes, that's a fair statement. We don't know what the deals are, either, so maybe Vick's lawyer thinks he can do better. Or maybe he thought so until his co-defendents flipped. But if you look at the motivation and who took the deals, it sure does seem like the feds are more interested in nailing Vick than in making sure justice is served. I do know this, though - the guys who flipped are the lowest level of dirtbag out there, because even if you could somehow rationalize the dog thing as being "just dogs", they flipped on their friend. If Vick goes to prison, I wouldn't blame him for spending a hundred grand or so making sure that the things he doesn't want happening to him DO happen to those guys, because they've ruined his life.

The feds are interested in nailing everyone.And Mike Vick ruined his own life.

If the feds are going after them all equally, I'm fine with it. If they don't offer Vick the same kind of deal, then I'm not fine with it. If the issue is just that Vick hasn't agreed to the deal, and the other guys have, then I don't have a problem with it. If the issue is that the feds are offering a sweetheart deal to his friends to nail Vick because they are under political pressure in a high profile case, and they want to give a big sentence to the famous guy as a deterrent, then no, I'm not fine with it. And at first blush, that's a real concern I have. I've already conceded that "they ruined his life" is a poor phrasing. I still think the dudes that flipped on him are evil, and even moreso than Vick.

So these guys commit a crime, along with Vick, who allegedly is the ringleader of the whole thing. They get busted, and since they took plea bargains it's a pretty good bet that the Feds had enough evidence to convict them. So now they're going to have to pay their debt to society, to help right the wrong they've inflicted against it. They choose to do the right thing, and pay part of their debt to society by assisting the government in convicting another criminal, thus ensuring that everyone is brought to justice. Yeah, they're really evil.I honestly am just flabbergasted that you are able to say the things you're able to say. If I tried to type that my hands would rebel against my brain and I'd end up beating myself into unconsciousness before I could finish the sentence. What the hell kind of messed up morality does it take to value loyalty over doing the right thing. I suppose in your mind, if your trusted friend came to you in confidence and told you he'd beaten, raped, and murdered a woman, the greater of two evils would be telling the police?

 

[Angus82]

Michael Vick's attorneys are negotiating a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

It looks like this is it. An accord could be struck before two new charges are added to Vick's indictment at the end of the week. Vick faces up to six years of prison time at the present moment. The new charges could bump that up to 27 years in jail. Vick would be accepting a far lesser sentence by pleaing.

Aug. 14 - 6:00 pm et

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution