C.Biscuit97 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 What a country. Burress hurt nobody except for himself, but he's going to spend more time in prison than Michael Vick and Donte Stallworth combined. Not saying Burress doesn't deserve a short stint behind bars, but 2 years is overkill IMO. Agree 100%. I hate guns but given the Sean Taylor case and other robberies to athletes, I can understand if a millionaire in NYC carries a weapon. PB isn't trying to shoot anyone and the fact he is remembered as huge idiot for life is almost punishment enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 If you're prosecuted.... I guarantee you that if Burress were a guy off the street, the DA would reduce the charges, they'd plead out, and he'd be on probation. There are so many scumbag criminals that do much worse things that constantly run through the criminal justice system, and they spend little to no time in prison. But if you got a famous defendant, then look out! It's ridiculous. The DAs office would have likely never heard about it if Plax was not famous. They only got wind of it because he is such a high profile guy. The hospital never reported it to police remember... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 The hospital never reported it to police remember... The hospital had a legal obligation to report it to police. You can bet that they would have followed this obligation if not for Plax's celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 As for Vick / Stallworth combo, how about Marvin Harrison? Dude shot somebody, then hired someone to finish the job when it looked like they might talk. And he's walking around, and free to sign with whomever? Yeah, I'm quoting myself. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage...red_gunman.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalopdc Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Kill someone with your car while driving drunk...less than 30 days. Shoot yourself in the leg...years. Seems fair. The justice system in this contry is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live&DieBillsFootball Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 the lesson? is if you're going to carry a gun into a nightclub and accidentally shoot yourself, don't do it in a city with the most strict gun laws in the country. Either that or if you accidentally shoot yourself, aim for your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 If you're prosecuted.... I guarantee you that if Burress were a guy off the street, the DA would reduce the charges, they'd plead out, and he'd be on probation. There are so many scumbag criminals that do much worse things that constantly run through the criminal justice system, and they spend little to no time in prison. But if you got a famous defendant, then look out! It's ridiculous. Really! I mean, look at Stallworth--if he wasn't a famous defendant, he would have gotten, at most, a speeding ticket after he killed that guy. Sean Taylor was shot in his houseby robbers. He was not attacked in a club. There was no law preventing him form keeping a weapon in his home. The Giants reported the incident to the police, so it's unlikely that the DA would "likely never heard about it". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I guarantee you that if Burress were a guy off the street, the DA would reduce the charges, they'd plead out, and he'd be on probation. You 'guarantee'? Based on what? Your experiences in Ann Arbor give you that much insight into criminal prosecutions in NYC? If this had been Joe Schmo, he wouldn't have made bail and sat in prison awaiting prosecution. Folks, this isn't a big surprise. A concealed weapon in NYC is a SERIOUS CRIME. Especially if you are dumb enough to discharge it. Inside a crowded club. It's only blind luck that the gun wasn't pointed elsewhere and some innocent kid killed, so spare me the sympathy for Plax. Agree 100%. I hate guns but given the Sean Taylor case and other robberies to athletes, I can understand if a millionaire in NYC carries a weapon. PB isn't trying to shoot anyone and the fact he is remembered as huge idiot for life is almost punishment enough. I agree with Caveman too -- the difference in NYC between the Dinkins era and now is night and day. However, suggesting that a millionaire needs to carry a gun is absolutely ridiculous. Athletes who get shot almost invariably get shot outside some seedy nightclub at 3 am after their buddies started some fight (and Sean Taylor was a known thug with his own record for gun play so let's not use that as the excuse). If guys are that worried about their safety, they can go home at a reasonable hour and not wear $50,000 worth of jewelry everywhere they go. Do you see millionaire Wall Street guys or millionaire real estate moguls in NYC carrying guns? How about millionaire actors who are easily recognizable all over NYC every day? Does Trump carry a gun when he goes out to dinner? I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Again, to all the posters complaining that the sentence is too harsh, do you live in NYC? When was the last time you visited? Because there aren't many people who actually live here who complain about these laws. I have to worry about my wife's safety every day when she goes to work, she works in public schools throughout the city, mostly in terrible neighborhoods, and has come home in tears numerous times following shootings in the vicinity of her schools. If Plax, or anyone else wants to carry a gun in NYC, let them register it, and carry it legally. Otherwise, stay outside of NYC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalopdc Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 You 'guarantee'? Based on what? Your experiences in Ann Arbor give you that much insight into criminal prosecutions in NYC? If this had been Joe Schmo, he wouldn't have made bail and sat in prison awaiting prosecution. Folks, this isn't a big surprise. A concealed weapon in NYC is a SERIOUS CRIME. Especially if you are dumb enough to discharge it. Inside a crowded club. It's only blind luck that the gun wasn't pointed elsewhere and some innocent kid killed, so spare me the sympathy for Plax. I agree with Caveman too -- the difference in NYC between the Dinkins era and now is night and day. However, suggesting that a millionaire needs to carry a gun is absolutely ridiculous. Athletes who get shot almost invariably get shot outside some seedy nightclub at 3 am after their buddies started some fight (and Sean Taylor was a known thug with his own record for gun play so let's not use that as the excuse). If guys are that worried about their safety, they can go home at a reasonable hour and not wear $50,000 worth of jewelry everywhere they go. Do you see millionaire Wall Street guys or millionaire real estate moguls in NYC carrying guns? How about millionaire actors who are easily recognizable all over NYC every day? Does Trump carry a gun when he goes out to dinner? I doubt it. No but Trump's body guard does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 No but Trump's body guard does. And Trump's body guard also has a permit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 And Trump's body guard also has a permit. And probably doesn't carry it in the waistband of his sweat pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlamnSam Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 And famous defendants have not gotten off easier over the years BECAUSE they have the $ or top lawyers? It works both ways. Not much less time than POS Vick got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billadelphia Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I think that the sentence is perfectly fair. No permit to carry, discharging in public. Say what you want about Vick, but his actions were not going to get anybody killed. Stallworth made out like a bandit, but Vick/Burress got what was coming to them, IMO. And to the poster above who was talking about Harrison, you're absolutely right. That was a serious meltdown of the legal system, and IMO, so was the Stallworth case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I think that the sentence is perfectly fair. No permit to carry, discharging in public. Say what you want about Vick, but his actions were not going to get anybody killed. Stallworth made out like a bandit, but Vick/Burress got what was coming to them, IMO. And to the poster above who was talking about Harrison, you're absolutely right. That was a serious meltdown of the legal system, and IMO, so was the Stallworth case. Your avatar just caused some pukeage. Shudder..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 No, not based on the fact that I lived in Ann Arbor 6 years ago (and chose a poor screen name)--but based on my experience as a lawyer. But I'm guessing you're not a criminal lawyer in New York. People seem to be missing a pretty big point that all laws are not the same in all places. Maybe in Florida or Texas it wouldn't have been a big deal, but it is in New York City. And pretty much everyone who lives or works there knows it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 And famous defendants have not gotten off easier over the years BECAUSE they have the $ or top lawyers? It works both ways. IMO, money usually buys lighter sentences when the person isn't a celebrity. Yeah, I'm quoting myself. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage...red_gunman.html Thanks for that article. You 'guarantee'? Based on what? Your experiences in Ann Arbor give you that much insight into criminal prosecutions in NYC? If this had been Joe Schmo, he wouldn't have made bail and sat in prison awaiting prosecution. Folks, this isn't a big surprise. A concealed weapon in NYC is a SERIOUS CRIME. Especially if you are dumb enough to discharge it. Inside a crowded club. It's only blind luck that the gun wasn't pointed elsewhere and some innocent kid killed, so spare me the sympathy for Plax. I agree with Caveman too -- the difference in NYC between the Dinkins era and now is night and day. However, suggesting that a millionaire needs to carry a gun is absolutely ridiculous. Athletes who get shot almost invariably get shot outside some seedy nightclub at 3 am after their buddies started some fight (and Sean Taylor was a known thug with his own record for gun play so let's not use that as the excuse). If guys are that worried about their safety, they can go home at a reasonable hour and not wear $50,000 worth of jewelry everywhere they go. Do you see millionaire Wall Street guys or millionaire real estate moguls in NYC carrying guns? How about millionaire actors who are easily recognizable all over NYC every day? Does Trump carry a gun when he goes out to dinner? I doubt it. His gun was unregistered. That's a big part of the problem, I think. Ben Roethlisberger hired body guards when he was a rookie and a lot of guys on the team thought he was a prima donna but now a lot of the Steelers do the same thing. That's the way to go, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Well, I've had civil and criminal cases both upstate and downstate in New York, but you're right, I'm not criminal defense attorney in NYC. But my point wasn't to argue what the law is, but instead how the game is played. Prosecutors have unbridled discretion; and in a city like New York, the prosecutors aren't going hard on the "top charges" all of the time. It's easier to get a guy on a gun charge but plead it down quickly. Burress suffered a worse fate here because he was famous, Bloomberg got involved, and they wanted to make an example of him. You may be right that many people might get a less severe plea agreement when charged with illegal gun ownership in NYC. But I would guess that anyone who shoots themselves in a crowded nightclub would draw enough publicity to get at least this sentence, especially when considering how cut and dry the case is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 PB carried a loaded unregistered weapon into a night club and discharged it. He's very lucky he didn't shoot someone else or he'd be done for sure. That's a pretty serious offense and because it happened in NY, he should feel somewhat lucky to only do 20 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conch Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 His actual sentence broke down as follows: 2 mos - concealed non registered weapon. 2 mos - weapons discharge in city limits 20 mos - stupidity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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