Not defending Stallworth's actions (at all!), but his blood alcohol level was .12, which is legally intoxicated since it is over the limit of .08, but it doesn't qualify as a "drunken stupor." The victim of this tragic event was crossing in the middle of the causeway and not a crosswalk and the judge found that this had been "contributory" to the awful event (I am NOT blaming the victim, but just pointing out that stallworth didn't run a red light and knock over a guy in the crosswalk). Stallworth stopped, immediately called 911, remained at the scene, handed himself over to the authorities, admitted his culpability and in general handled the entire matter as well as could be imagined, given the circumstances. I just wonder how many of us, completely sober, driving in the grey light of predawn might accidentally hit someone walking across a major roadway outside of a crosswalk?
Burress didn't shoot himself in the leg in his garage while cleaning his weapon. He carried it loaded into a crowded club, illegally concealed in the band of his sweatpants, with the safety off and discharged it, thankfully, where he was the only one harmed by it. He tried to admit himself to an ER under a false name, had a friend take the weapon out of the city (Antonio Pierce only got off because the Mara's made a major effort to help him, despite clearly breaking the law), obfuscated at every step of the way with the prosecution, and then turned down a very attractive plea deal because he thought he could persuade a grand jury to let him off without paying for his crime in any way at all.
Those are two very different cases, despite the loss of life in the first.