Vick goes to court today....

[Him8123]

i dont see what all the deliberation and confusion is about. He did it, his so-called boys have turned against him as well. He should pay the price big time just like any other normal citizen who breaks a federal law. Dog fighting is disgusting and especially the way they killed the dogs who couldn`t fight. They should electricute his ass and see how he likes it.

[Harlan Huckleby]

i dont see what all the deliberation and confusion is about. He did it, his so-called boys have turned against him as well. He should pay the price big time just like any other normal citizen who breaks a federal law. Dog fighting is disgusting and especially the way they killed the dogs who couldn`t fight. They should electricute his ass and see how he likes it.

Well, emotions say we should lock up Vick and throw away the key, or even electrocute his ass, as you propose.

In the OJ trial, the guy was as guilty as sin, but he got off because the emotions of the jury were swayed. They were made to feel angry over past racial justice.

emotions are the enemy of justice.

What should the penalty be for cruelty to animals? Emotions say that cruelty to dogs is much worse than cruelty to pigs. But should we think about this some more, or just go by emotions? Pigs are smarter than dogs.

I think vick is being threatened with a 40 year prison sentence, as the above article mentioned, because of the public's emotions. In my mind, this is a prosecution run amok.

[GrnBay007]

I think vick is being threatened with a 40 year prison sentence, as the above article mentioned, because of the public's emotions. In my mind, this is a prosecution run amok.

HH, any time there is a plea bargain, the defendant is being "threatened" with a harsher sentence. Vick's situation is nothing new. Some may even say that with him being a "superstar" and a public figure he might be judged on a different level as he is expected to behave in a manner appropriate to his public stature.

[Harlan Huckleby]

we'll just have to see how it shakes out.

If you beleive that the law should only punish people who are cruel to the animals that we keep as pets, then the Vick situation is simple and straight forward. String him up.

[MadtownPacker]

They don't drag RICO in when members of Madtown's huge, extended family are busted for chicken fighting.

Yeah but they use the chickens to make caldo sfter so they dont go to waste.

Besides, chickens dont have feelings.

[Rastak]

i dont see what all the deliberation and confusion is about. He did it, his so-called boys have turned against him as well. He should pay the price big time just like any other normal citizen who breaks a federal law. Dog fighting is disgusting and especially the way they killed the dogs who couldn`t fight. They should electricute his ass and see how he likes it.

Well, emotions say we should lock up Vick and throw away the key, or even electrocute his ass, as you propose.

In the OJ trial, the guy was as guilty as sin, but he got off because the emotions of the jury were swayed. They were made to feel angry over past racial justice.

emotions are the enemy of justice.

What should the penalty be for cruelty to animals? Emotions say that cruelty to dogs is much worse than cruelty to pigs. But should we think about this some more, or just go by emotions? Pigs are smarter than dogs.

I think vick is being threatened with a 40 year prison sentence, as the above article mentioned, because of the public's emotions. In my mind, this is a prosecution run amok.

The point HH is moot. The law is the law. I know cruelty to animals is not legal and so do you. So did Vick the prick. Hanging a pig will get you prosecuted too. Emotion or not, moral or not the law is the law. Don't give us some juvenile cow/slaughterhouse story either. We are all adults here, let's keep the argument at that level at least.

Get used to the idea Vick is going to prison for a long time for violating laws he was fully aware of as he was breaking them for six years.

[Harlan Huckleby]

The law is the law. ... Hanging a pig will get you prosecuted too. Emotion or not, moral or not the law is the law.

At last, a breakthrough! There are tears welling in my eyes. I think you see my point: Vick should be punished because he violated principles that were layed down in law. (the principle being that it is wrong to cause animals to suffer unnecessarily.) His punishment should not be determined by the degree of public outrage, but by the amount of suffering he caused. This is justice! I like justice, justice good. I'm sorry that a pig had to be hung to illustrate the point, but it was for a good cause.

When a pretty, white college woman gets raped, the public and the district attorny get very, very interested. When some skinny guy in prison takes it up the poop shoot against his wishes, people and the law tend to look the other way. This is NOT justice. They are both the same crime, rape. I know justice is never going to be perfect, the point is we need to be alert to the emotions that cloud judgment.

Back to Vick: Vick is a pretty bad case, I agree he needs some serious punishment. But it has to be tempered by how other people are treated. I say 1 year TOPS in prison for the animal rights portion of his crime. Maybe 6 months. I've seen cases locally where people kept large numbers of animals and allowed them to starve to death. They got a couple months in jail, and a court order to stay away from all animals.

I don't have a clear opinion about animal rights, I'm a little confused. I'm for hunting and brats. I just think whatever policy we decide on ought to be applied uniformly to ALL incidents of gratuitous suffering by animals.

[Rastak]

I say give him the recommended guidelines plus a some for the aggrevating circumstances. Judges words, not mine. He'll get a year and a half for the federal stuff at least and hopefully 2 or 3 for the local stuff. After 5 years of thinking about it in a cell he can then move on to a happy and healthy law abiding life. This is one sick dude and so are his friends. What fun bunch of guys to hang out with.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Rastak, I don't know if you are a strong advocate for animal rights.

If Vick actually gets sent to 5 years in prison, the people at PETA are going to have a hell of a party.

[cpk1994]

I say give him the recommended guidelines plus a some for the aggrevating circumstances. Judges words, not mine. He'll get a year and a half for the federal stuff at least and hopefully 2 or 3 for the local stuff. After 5 years of thinking about it in a cell he can then move on to a happy and healthy law abiding life. This is one sick dude and so are his friends. What fun bunch of guys to hang out with.

If you think he will serve his entire sentence, you are out of your mind. He spend a year in prison TOPS out of what he is actually sentenced.

[Harlan Huckleby]

If you think he will serve his entire sentence, you are out of your mind. He spend a year in prison TOPS out of what he is actually sentenced.

There could be a lot of poop shoot violations in one year. Maybe there will still be justice for Rastak, a rough justice.

[Rastak]

I say give him the recommended guidelines plus a some for the aggrevating circumstances. Judges words, not mine. He'll get a year and a half for the federal stuff at least and hopefully 2 or 3 for the local stuff. After 5 years of thinking about it in a cell he can then move on to a happy and healthy law abiding life. This is one sick dude and so are his friends. What fun bunch of guys to hang out with.

If you think he will serve his entire sentence, you are out of your mind. He spend a year in prison TOPS out of what he is actually sentenced.

No way in hell. No way. The guys who first copped a plea will get that and more. Judge already said the details of this opperation will be considered agrevating circumstances in sentencing. My understanding is that in federal cases you don't serve 10% of the time and then leave, you serve most of what you are senteced to. Furthermore, four guys started this venture. Three have admitted it and all three indicate Vick ran the show. You are sadly mistaken if you think he'll get 1 year. I think that's why his lawyers are pushing so hard now. It ain't gonna happen. Grand jury meets monday to discuss racketeering charges. If he doesn't cop a plea and take his 16-18 months he's gonna get 3-5 years. I'd be shitting my drawers about now if I were Vick.



Oh, HH. I'm not really an animal rights person other than to be a firm believer that no living thing should be killed and torured for a human's amusement. For instance I don't believe my dog actually owns any property, but he has a right to live his life.

I know I sound real passionate about this and I am. This is some really sick shit. I didn't know much about organized dogfighting until this case. Hell, a dog fight ain't something you want to see. When I was a kid and there was a dog fight it was a VERY BAD THING. Scary bad.

[packinpatland]

In addition, the Vick defense team is attempting to gain some insight into how the NFL and the Falcons will proceed if the six-year veteran pleads guilty. In that regard, they are making little or no headway, at least at the league level.

You'd think that how the Falcons and the NFL proceed would be the least of his worries. It's not like doing a 'tour of duty', I doubt if they are going to leave his job open for him.
Is this the way to interpret this?

[Freak Out]

I say give him the recommended guidelines plus a some for the aggrevating circumstances. Judges words, not mine. He'll get a year and a half for the federal stuff at least and hopefully 2 or 3 for the local stuff. After 5 years of thinking about it in a cell he can then move on to a happy and healthy law abiding life. This is one sick dude and so are his friends. What fun bunch of guys to hang out with.

What are the sentencing guidelines for a crime like this? If he ends up with more than 16-18 months in the joint I'll be shocked. Now the fines should be in balance with his salary....

I still say he may take it to court.....the jury can make some funny decisions.

[Rastak]

In addition, the Vick defense team is attempting to gain some insight into how the NFL and the Falcons will proceed if the six-year veteran pleads guilty. In that regard, they are making little or no headway, at least at the league level.

You'd think that how the Falcons and the NFL proceed would be the least of his worries. It's not like doing a 'tour of duty', I doubt if they are going to leave his job open for him.
Is this the way to interpret this?

He wants his cake and eat it too. Yea, he wants the NFL to tell him what they'll do if he pleads guilty. Does this guy live in a fantasy world? That's the least of his problems. And why should they tell him? Furthermore, he's done in Atlanta.