Do you think they will let him out of jail on the weekend to
play football?
The current legal consensus is that they are currently working on a plea bargain to move the middle of June date up quicker. To be honest, I'm surprised that they haven't struck any kind of deal by now. That would give him the opportunity to serve his alleged 3-4 months in jail. Even if he gets 6 months, he could serve 3, then move his sentence to house arrest, or even a halfway house. He's certainly trying to play this year, it's just not known at this point how much of the year he could play.
Since 8/10 people charged with his crime are not given the higher degree charge, 8/10 also avoid the mandatory minimum. Burress will not get the mandatory minimum, although with NYC Mayor backing, etc, he should certainly get some jail time. That time is widely thought to be 6 months or less, which means he'd be out in 4-5 max. A lot of legal analysts felt it'd be even less--more like 3-4 months, which means he'd serve less than 3 months total. Once again, the alternative housing is still in the question for sure.
If he'd be incarcerated in the middle of June, there are certainly some who feel he'd actually be released by the middle of September. If the commissioner gives him a 4 game suspension, he's not really looking any worse than M.Lynch's 3 gamer. Even if he gets a 6 gamer, which many think would be steep--it's basically still the same as being PUP'ed, and he still comes back for at least 10 games + playoffs.
There is also some talk that he will be able to somehow postpone the trial another 5-6 months until after the season. He may even have the trial and still have the sentencing 90 days later, giving him a chance to play the season. When his high profile, P.Diddy murder jumping lawyer was hired, he said the main concern for the legal team was to have Burress play the upcoming season. So it's not entirely out of the picture for Burress to be on the field for 10-12 games + playoffs this yr, it may actually be more likely. He could even get a 1-2 year jail sentence--which is 'suspended,' meaning he's free unless he messes up again.
Look at famous rap artist T.I., he has close to 40 arrests, and was caught with many high powered automatic machine guns, rifles, silencers, etc. Many talked of his mandatory minimum years he faced, etc. He was sentenced 1 yr in jail at the end of it all, mostly due to his community service. Burress will most likely be used for talks for the kids also, etc--and this will likely be included in his disposition.
I'm not advocating his light sentence, I'm just giving you another side of what many feel he's looking at. I am not particularly a Burress fan, although I do respect any decent player's abilities, including his.
Let's just hope that the NYJ don't land him, that's all I'm even really concerned about.
