OT Burress: Two Years in Plea Deal (merged)

[PatsFanSince74]

espn said that the orignal deal was 3 months jail, a litttle probation, and 1500 hours community service. But Cheddar burres didnt want that deal because he didnt want any jail time...guess he mad a bad call.

there have been bad calls on Plaxico's side all along. He testified before the Grand Jury because he thought or someone told him that he could convince the panel not to indict him if he were suitably "remorseful." That was his biggest gamble; once he testified under oath to the facts, he had virtually no chance of winning at trial, even with a sympathetic jury.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

So the moral of the story is: "It's much better to drink yourself into a drunken stupor and go kill someone using your car as a weapon than it is to shoot yourself in the leg with your gun"

And people wonder why society is f&#ked

 

[Rob0729]

Plaxico really blew this one. Word was the prosecutor was willing to give him only a year sentence along with a ton of community service hours and Plaxico refused thinking he would go free. Then he went to the grand jury and pleaded with them to not indict while giving a full confession. I agree with the poster that it makes no sense to go infront of the grand jury and plead guilty. Once he was indicted, his leverage weakened quite a bit since his confession was on record and the prosecutor had a slam dunk of a case. A good lawyer never puts his client on the stand when he knows he is guilty of the crime. Never.

 

[mcgraw_wv]

So he gets two years for carrying a weapon, shooting himself, while people bring fully loaded assault rifles to public town halls and places where the president is...

Something isn't really adding up.

I'm sorry, but Plaxico is NOT a menace to the public, and everyone that HUNTS and shoots themselves don't get 2 years...

What am I missing here, is this a overly strict NY law or what?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

So the moral of the story is: "It's much better to drink yourself into a drunken stupor and go kill someone using your car as a weapon than it is to shoot yourself in the leg with your gun"

And people wonder why society is f&#ked

Actually it's know your jurisdiction. In Pennsylvania, most law-abiding citizens have no problem getting a concealed weapons carry permit. BUT over the bridge in New Jersey, it's nearly impossible to get one and the punishment is stiff if caught carrying. They warn you here in PA that it's not valid in NJ so don't take your weapons there.
NYC is one of the most restrictive in the nation with respect to carrying unlicensed firearms on your person ( not at home or business). That's pretty common knowledge as is the punishment. IIRC it used to be plastered on the buses and on TV ads to alert people.....

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Plaxico really blew this one. Word was the prosecutor was willing to give him only a year sentence along with a ton of community service hours and Plaxico refused thinking he would go free. Then he went to the grand jury and pleaded with them to not indict while giving a full confession. I agree with the poster that it makes no sense to go infront of the grand jury and plead guilty. Once he was indicted, his leverage weakened quite a bit since his confession was on record and the prosecutor had a slam dunk of a case. A good lawyer never puts his client on the stand when he knows he is guilty of the crime. Never.

I think that read is just about 100% correct.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Actually it's know your jurisdiction. In Pennsylvania, most law-abiding citizens have no problem getting a concealed weapons carry permit. BUT over the bridge in New Jersey, it's nearly impossible to get one and the punishment is stiff if caught carrying. They warn you here in PA that it's not valid in NJ so don't take your weapons there.
NYC is one of the most restrictive in the nation with respect to carrying unlicensed firearms on your person ( not at home or business). That's pretty common knowledge as is the punishment. IIRC it used to be plastered on the buses and on TV ads to alert people.....

Right. NYC is one of the toughest, maybe the toughest, in the country with these laws. Someone who is legal to carry on Long Island can't bring that gun into the city.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Actually it's know your jurisdiction. In Pennsylvania, most law-abiding citizens have no problem getting a concealed weapons carry permit. BUT over the bridge in New Jersey, it's nearly impossible to get one and the punishment is stiff if caught carrying. They warn you here in PA that it's not valid in NJ so don't take your weapons there.
NYC is one of the most restrictive in the nation with respect to carrying unlicensed firearms on your person ( not at home or business). That's pretty common knowledge as is the punishment. IIRC it used to be plastered on the buses and on TV ads to alert people.....

I have no issue with the punishment that Plax got.

My issue is that someone can go and actually murder a person using their car as their choice of weapon and get a mere slap on the wrist in comparison.

Something is really wrong with this picture.

But, hey, that's society these days.

 

[sieglo]

This **** is why our prison system is so overcrowded.

 

[Rossmci90]

I'd just like to clarify, im not saying Plax has got a rough deal, just that his punishment compared to DUI manslaughter seems way out of line.

 

[TheComeback]

Re: Plaxico Pleads Guilty

I'm quite sure that the NYPD has arrested many a gun toten drug dealers who have gotten a better plea bargin than this one.

Yeah, typically defendants in NYC with Burress' charges don't serve a single day of prison time. The DA wants to make an example of him because he is a celebrity and celebrities apparently don't go to jail enough. In other words, the DA wants to make himself look and feel powerful so he can run for office someday.

Burress is a douche and I'll always despise him, but this punishment really outweighs the crime.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

So he gets two years for carrying a weapon, shooting himself, while people bring fully loaded assault rifles to public town halls and places where the president is...

Something isn't really adding up.

I'm sorry, but Plaxico is NOT a menace to the public, and everyone that HUNTS and shoots themselves don't get 2 years...

What am I missing here, is this a overly strict NY law or what?

you raise a lot of questions there and i assume you're serious in asking them (i.e., it's not just rhetorical).

The folks carrying assault rifles to the town halls are exercising their second amendment rights, as interpreted by local law. As long at their permit is valid and they are not overtly endangering another, they can carry the gun.

The folks carrying assault rifles to "where the president is" are never in the presence of the president or his motorcade. They may be near the venue where he is appearing but they are not a danger to the president. If they tried to enter his presence or presented themselves along his motorcade route, the Secret Service will either keep them out, remove them from the scene, disarm them or, um, shoot them, depending on the circumstances (if the gentleman was carrying an assault weapon and suddenly walked out of his house along the motorcade route just as the president was approaching and at a point when his vehicle could no longer be redirected from crossing paths with the man with the weapon, if time allowed, they would confront the guy, but if time did not allow they'd just shoot the gentleman and inquire about the status of his permit afterwards); this is a case where federal law trumps local law and protecting the president takes precedence over local carry laws.

I disagree re Burress. By carrying a loaded, illegally concealed weapon with no friggin' safety into a crowded place where alcohol was being consumed, I would argue that, at least on that occasion, he was "a menace to the public."

As to his sentence. New York is one of the safest big cities in America if not the world. Everyone who lives here knows, as do I, that there are draconian and mandatory sentences for those convicted at trial of carrying and discharging an illegally concealed weapon. Works for me.

If you want to debate whether any or all of the above makes sense or should be the case, we should move this to a Political Forum.

 

[TheComeback]

The laws are indeed draconian and that is the issue. By Patsfans' definition, any concealed weapon carrier in any location where there are many people is a "menace" to society. Good gun owners know that even a well-secured weapon in a holster can go off for no reason. It's pretty clear to me that NYC has some over-the-top gun laws.

As far as I'm concerned, licensing is really just a formality. Anyone can get a concealed weapons license. That doesn't make it all of a sudden safer for Burress to walk into a nightclub strapped up. It makes it easier for the NYPD to track him down if he fires it.

From what I understand, most of these cases don't even go to trial. The defendant usually gets a much shorter sentence followed by probation.

I never agree with using someone's life, even a wealthy celebrity's, to make some sort of demonstration- people read about the sentence, say that sucks for him, and forget about it tomorrow. The DA isn't even making a difference.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

So the moral of the story is: "It's much better to drink yourself into a drunken stupor and go kill someone using your car as a weapon than it is to shoot yourself in the leg with your gun"

And people wonder why society is f&#ked

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.

 

[fnordcircle]

So the moral of the story is: "It's much better to drink yourself into a drunken stupor and go kill someone using your car as a weapon than it is to shoot yourself in the leg with your gun"

And people wonder why society is f&#ked

Stallworth wasn't in a drunken stupor, every officer said he was coherent and did what he was told, neither the calling card of a blacked out drunk.

Anyone who hasn't driven while tired, had a few drinks, had a severe cold/sickness, been distracted by their cellphone, radio, baconator sandwich please feel free to be morally outraged.

The rest of us should just thank God that it wasn't us who had some dude step out onto the highway in front of.

 

[State]

Re: Plaxico Pleads Guilty

I'd say he deserves the two years. He could've gotten the Darwin Award, though. He was carrying illegally in NYC, which, is pretty much a given for most anyone, considering their laws, but I digress.

Yeah, except for the rich and powerful who are able to have concealed carry licenses, such as Robert Di Nero and Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguards.

Incorporation of the Second Amendment hasn't yet occurred as it has for all the other Bill of Rights (except for the Fourth). It's going to happen. So municipalities like NYC that are fanatically anti-gun will have much more of a hurdle to curtail an inalienable right the Second Amendment represents.

Plaxico made the mistake of not having a holster and having a Glock, which is notorious for accidental discharge. There's no safety except for the trigger. Pretty lame.

When I carry a concealed weapon illegally--I'm not going to have the state dictate to me the level of safety I can provide for my family and me--I always holster a revolver. No discharge of shell. And I use hollow point ammo so others won't be shot by a round going through the bad guy.

I notice the laws grow harsher the south one goes in New England--just as the crime goes up. For instance, getting ccw in NH and Maine is easy. In Vermont ANYONE can conceal as long as he's not a felon. No permit required.

Crime wave in Vermont?

Of course when I go in Massachusetts, which is not gun friendly, more people are outlaws. Brockton, anyone?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Stallworth wasn't in a drunken stupor, every officer said he was coherent and did what he was told, neither the calling card of a blacked out drunk.

Anyone who hasn't driven while tired, had a few drinks, had a severe cold/sickness, been distracted by their cellphone, radio, baconator sandwich please feel free to be morally outraged.

The rest of us should just thank God that it wasn't us who had some dude step out onto the highway in front of.

Amen.

10101010

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Plaxico Pleads Guilty

Yeah, except for the rich and powerful who are able to have concealed carry licenses, such as Robert Di Nero and Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguards.

Incorporation of the Second Amendment hasn't yet occurred as it has for all the other Bill of Rights (except for the Fourth). It's going to happen. So municipalities like NYC that are fanatically anti-gun will have much more of a hurdle to curtail an inalienable right the Second Amendment represents.

Plaxico made the mistake of not having a holster and having a Glock, which is notorious for accidental discharge. There's no safety except for the trigger. Pretty lame.

When I carry a concealed weapon illegally--I'm not going to have the state dictate to me the level of safety I can provide for my family and me--I always holster a revolver. No discharge of shell. And I use hollow point ammo so others won't be shot by a round going through the bad guy.

I notice the laws grow harsher the south one goes in New England--just as the crime goes up. For instance, getting ccw in NH and Maine is easy. In Vermont ANYONE can conceal as long as he's not a felon. No permit required.

Crime wave in Vermont?

Of course when I go in Massachusetts, which is not gun friendly, more people are outlaws. Brockton, anyone?

This is rapidly becoming a political thread. Ian, maybe move it?

I agree with your view that it is reasonable for gun laws to fit local circumstances; what makes sense in Vermont or NH doesn't necessarily make sense in Manhattan.

On incorporation of the Second Amendment. I don't think so in the near future. I'm willing to cross that bridge should we come to it, but, until then, I'm happy with the "fanatical" gun laws in our little city of 8 million people.

I'm curious that you admit to illegal possession/concealment of a weapon; probably not a good idea to have put that in writing if you ever got caught. One of the things that I respect the NRA for is its insistence on enforcing existing gun laws, while opposing more stringent laws. I have always admired this. You seem to disagree with this.

A word of advice: if you bring an illegally concealed weapon to Manhattan (especially since you admit in writing to doing so without regard for the law), don't get caught. You could end up with a sentence that's on the long end of "3 1/2 to 15 years."

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

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.

Oh, yeah the death of person is just a minor difference in the cases.

I can't help but think that had Stallworth been sober he might not have killed the guy. But, alas, he wasn't.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Stallworth wasn't in a drunken stupor, every officer said he was coherent and did what he was told, neither the calling card of a blacked out drunk.

Anyone who hasn't driven while tired, had a few drinks, had a severe cold/sickness, been distracted by their cellphone, radio, baconator sandwich please feel free to be morally outraged.

The rest of us should just thank God that it wasn't us who had some dude step out onto the highway in front of.

Just be thankful you haven't lost someone near and dear to you to the idiocy of a drunk driver.

I suppose the defn of drunk is what's being debated here but I am of the opinion that any amount of alcohol in ones body is too much when driving a vehicle. So, yes, I consider him to be a drunk in this case.