So many dynamics here.
There is the question of pre-medidation vs. accidental.
There is the question of celebrity (Highest paid black QB, vs. injury-prone, less known WR)
There is the question of depravity ( would you let someone who drank and drove babysit your kids, versus someone involved with torturing, drowning, electrocuting, hanging dogs)
There is the question of the value of a human vs. a dog
There is the question of ethnicity of the 59 yr old man in Miami. (white vs. Hispanic)
Weigh in!!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
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It's Stallworth all day. I wouldn't have even sent Vick to jail, given him probation, or suspended him from the league. I would have been like, "Really? That's what you do for fun," and then asked "Why are you risking 9 figures of income in the state of Virginia where they like to put Black men in prison?"
ReplyDeleteIntent does come into play but hunters intend to shoot animals and Vick didn't directly intend to kill the dogs, he intended to watch them fight. I do feel leniance is appropriate for Stallworth since it was an accident, the guy was j walking and he stopped and called the police. Yes the man is partially at fault for j walking, I j walk all day everyday when I'm in DC, Chicago, NYC, etc. If I get hit j walking it's my fault. If I got hit by a car when I was a child my parents would have beat my ass for not looking both directions. Still one person took a human life and one killed some animals (that's what dogs are even though our society seems to believe differently.... People making dogs there friends and shit... whole nother topic.
And you know if Donte had killed an attractive White woman it would be on and poppin... Jail, no bail, indefinite suspension from the Nazi aka Roger Goodell. Killed a White man, jail.
ReplyDeleteHad he killed:
Trick Daddy - Probation
Tim Tebow - Execution on site
Illegal Immigrant - Governor's Citation
Mike Vick - Award from PETA
hahahaha... good one!!
ReplyDeletei mentioned this earlier and joose forgot to cite me for texting him accidental vs on purpose part.....
ReplyDeletewhat i mentioned was that crime punishment nowadays has to do with relatibility rather than threat to possible victim....
if ppl can see themselves or a love one doing the crime the jury/judge show mercy...DUIs are one those crimes that ppl don't take seriously because there is a sense both real and perceieved that EVERYONE DOES IT. everyone does not dogfight...you have to remember this does not stop at gambling on a dog to win...this includes drowning wounded, battered "good for nothing" dogs and temporary hanging and electrocuting to train them for fighting...this is pretty much torture. i think if he didn't have CRUEL dog blood (the pet Cemetary) on his hands it would have been different. my POINT IS NO ONE DOES THIS so folks are like how could you (ask yourself which crime are you most likely to committ)...the majority of people have been in an unintentional wreck---hopefully damaging property and not ppl. how many ppl have been turning right on red and almost hit a cyclist....point being this happens. the punishment for certain drug use is less severe due to the relatibility of mainstream america. there definitely a high profile piece as well too.
oh yeah...great point with the victim....i think that is more critical than the fame piece.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, he got off lightly because he paid the family off and they accepted his $$$. I don't know what that says about America that a family would be willing to take 5M from a guy to try and avoid going to jail so that he could play football again.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what his BAC was, because he had enough time to flash the guy twice but didn't swerve?
Society has already shown that 1 hispanic man < 50 dogs, which is quite sad. I understand that Vick was the golden goose PETA was waiting on nailing so they could hopefully eradicate dog-fighting in America, but at some point there has to be respect for the human life.
Finally, Goodell is on some BS if Stallworth doesn't get at least a 2 year suspension (throughout his entire house arrest). You HAVE to punish him LONGER than VICK!!! You'll make a mockery of this "tough, new" regime if you don't.
ReplyDeleteTrey, I concede that your argument offers realistic insight into the manner in which society judges acts of moral turpitude. However, I respectfully disagree with your intial premise.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to make a summary of your blog, I would quote an excerpt from it that states the following:
"if ppl can see themselves or a love one doing the crime the jury/judge show mercy."
Accordingly, one can surmise that the severity of one's criminal act is measured based on how likely or frequent members of society are to commit such acts. Frankly, I have a serious problem with this notion.
It's tough for me to bear the sentiment that dog fighting is more morally reprehensible than killing a human (due to drinking and driving) simply because drinking and driving is more common in today's society.
Make no mistake, Mike Vick was clearly wrong. However, the amount of public ridicule he received was undeserved. Last year, nearly 13,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives due to alcohol-related accidents. Where was the public outcry for these victims?!!
The truth of the matter is that drinking and driving is a result of selfishness and lack of self control. Individuals that drink and drive are fully aware that they put their lives' and other's at risk. However, inspite of such knowledge, they continue to drink and drive with no regards to the danger they pose to human life. Therefore, DUI drivers that cause the death of others due to their own negligence, like Donte Stallwarth, should get 20 years for every year that Mike Vick served, simple and plain.
Man, I can't speak on what already has been mentioned before. I spoke of this earlier during the heightency of the Vick dog fight injustice and all it does it proves that dogs are valued more than human life that is if you are a minority
ReplyDeleteMan, I can't speak on what already has been mentioned before. I spoke of this earlier during the heightency of the Vick dog fight injustice and all it does it proves that dogs are valued more than human life that is if you are a minority
ReplyDeletethe laws and punishment are set by society norms...thus there is a direct link between what we deem NORMAL and abnormal when it comes to punishment...i don't drink at and drinking and driving should be taken very seriously but my point is that peopl do not simply because alot of a certain majority of people would populate our jails which is why you get multiple chances (and fines) when it comes to DUIs and hard time for other things....
ReplyDeletei had some grammar issues in my last post...i do not think that punishment should be handed down based on relatibility but IN REALITY this what happens....the majority of americans will be harder on the cruel torture of innocent animals because it is an UNPOPOULAR crime by many standards. meanwhile people drink and drive daily (hourly)...if the majority of america was serious about getting rid of this there would be no rules like: 1st time---1 day in jail and licesence suspension; 2nd time---30 days and $2000 fine; 3rd time---more fines and breathalizer in your car; 4th time etc....
ReplyDeletepoint being if the judge, DA etc made duis more serious they would risk perhaps themselves or love ones paying heavy penalty because it is more popular (i have kids that party every weekend at their frat parties at college; do i really want sheriff joe putting them in prison with rapists and murderers)....how many crimes do you see lawyers on tv saying "have you been wrongfully incriminated on drunk driving, if so call this number for legal services"....this tells me that the public does not take duis seriously (or they do only when they lose someone)....imagine what the prison system makeup would look like if it was....this is the reason alchohol/cigarettes is legal (because many do it) while for instance weed isn't. this is why there are more harsh penalties for crack cocaine than other drugs equally as damaging (perception of majority users). look at the gun ownership laws by state...what do the "no gun" states have in common...
basically the law is set up by the majority and what they deem as normal (a representative democracy)...who makes up the majority? also everyone is failing to look at one is an accident and one is purposeful (people are not going to jail for accidentally running over dogs for an apples to apples discussion---this happens all the time; i have hit a bird, a cat, and a squirrel in my lifetime)...
that's a whole 'nother discussion....should intent be factored in punishment....should a person get more time for killing someone in a fight at the club (split second) vs plotting and poisoning them to their death over 2 months for life insurance...i think one is obviously worst (factoring in intent to kill and MOTIVE) but if you guys say a life is a life then they both should get the same time.
personally i think what vick did is about equal (intent does matter to me and although stallworth did not intend to kill the dude he put himself in that position by driving drunk---if sober he would have gotten off completely but paying up in a civil suit) but his punishment and treatment was harsh and i just hate witch hunts (if this is soooo serious go arrest other dogfighters---not sure if this is or is not the case but i doubt the police are spending calories pursuing other dogfighters).
So my opinion has changed on this after a little research...
ReplyDeleteI think the comparison to Vick's crime is not a fair one. Vick got what he deserved for what he did. It's not a question of people being valued less than dogs. He funded an illegal dog-fighting business and also brutally killed dogs. 2 years in jail... I'm good with that. The problem is people (PETA freaks) aren't letting it go. He paid his debt to soceity... let it go.
The Stallworth thing is a different story. If he was convicted of DUI manslaughter, he would have gotten 15 years. He should have gotten that if he was truly reckless and got in a car tanked and killed an innocent person.
But, I think we have to stop and look at the circumstances. Imagine this scenario: You are leaving work and some fool runs across the road, not in the crosswalk, and you hit him. it was an accident... it sucks, but you wouldn't go to jail for it. Now imagine that the same thing happened, but you are leaving happy hour at Kona instead of work. You had a few beers, but nothing crazy. Anyone who drinks has done this a million times. It could happen to any of us. So do you deserve serious prison time for this? It's a tough question.
Basically this is what happened to Stallworth. He was at a club, had some drinks, probably shouldn't have driven, but he did. He was at a .12 Blood-Alcohol level... for a guy his size, that's 4-5 drinks at happy hour. Some dude was trying to catch a bus and runs across the street, not in the crosswalk, and Stallworth hits him. The key is that Stallworth didn't run, he stuck around, made sure the ambulance came, he cooperated with the authorities, and he made things right with the family financially (feel free to judge the family for this if you want).
My thought is that, sure he did something stupid and a horrible accident happened. But he wasn't malicious. My thing is the 0.12... that's not that bad. It's not sloppy, on your ass drunk. It's a solid buzz. You can argue that if he was not drinking then his reaction time would have been better, but at night in the middle of the street, with no crosswalk... I'm not expecting a dude to be in the road. I could see it happening to anyone of use, drinking or not.
Obviously if it happened to a loved one, I'd feel differently, but taking emotion out of it, I side with Stallworth on this.
oh yeah i won't judge the victim's family...i have no issue with people forgiving and moving on (with some change)....what's the sense in fighting (spending money you don't have on a battle you won't win) for a REMORSEFUL stallworth to spend time in jail. i lost a cousin to drunk driving...at the end of the day my family (didn't pursue money or anything) realized the best thing to do was to forgive and move on...nothing is bringing the person back....
ReplyDelete