Plaxico gets 2 years!

I found the link after reading it on PFT: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/.

Anyway, that sucks. Guy had talent, and while what he did was dumb, he didn't hurt or kill anyone.

3 months ago Baked Potato Soup 20 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Wait, I didn't discover the link.

I’m saying that PFT had the link, but I posted to the article that they linked to, and then included the link to PFT in my post. I didn’t want it to seem like I was stealing credit for their work.

by Baked Potato Soup on Aug 20, 2009 9:32 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ha!

My buddy drafted him in FF. EEEdiot!

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by Aaron Novinger on Aug 20, 2009 10:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

ha! that was dumb

but Plaxico got what he deserved. Firing guns in public places should be severely punishable.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Aug 20, 2009 10:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

it discharged without his action—I’d call that involuntary. I think the current supreme court might believe draconian gun laws such as the ones in Manhattan are unconstitutional. Why didn’t Plax challenge the law?

by SB2008 on Aug 20, 2009 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wonder that too.

He pleaded guilty for 2 years. What were his lawyers thinking?

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by Aaron Novinger on Aug 20, 2009 1:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll tell you what they were thinking

Going to trial is risky no matter how strong you think your defense is. His lawyers probably told him you’re going to be rolling the dice going to trial and could end up with a much longer sentence if convicted.

Plaxico probably just wanted to make this ordeal as short as possible and get it done and over with so he could possibly play in the 2011 season.

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by Terry on Aug 20, 2009 1:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Would it have made a difference if he had a permit?

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by Aaron Novinger on Aug 20, 2009 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think so.

Because permit or not, I don’t think you can carry a handgun in NYC. It’s a felony, I believe. Plus, since the gun went off, he was also charged with reckless endangerment which is for sure a felony. And there was virtually no chance of him winning this case. I mean, it’s against the law to have a gun in NYC and against the law to discharge said gun in public, and he shot himself in the leg. It would be kind of hard to argue, much less prove, that he didn’t commit those 2 crimes.

by Baked Potato Soup on Aug 20, 2009 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

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by Aaron Novinger on Aug 20, 2009 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right, but

I’m talking constitutional arguments here.

Basically, the supreme court just held that there is an individual right to own a firearm, and struck down a strict DC gun ban in the process. The Court didn’t really go into specifics about what that right means.

What I think, however, is that because the gun went off involuntarily, it makes little sense to charge Plax with reckless endangerment, since recklessness generally requires conscious awareness of risk. Thus, you’re left with the unlawful possession charge.

If the law making such possession is unconstitutional, then Plax walks. The question is whether the law itself is invalid—and I think that’s a difficult issue, given that the Court’s recent decision wasn’t all that clear.

But—I still wonder why his lawyers didn’t bring it up.

by SB2008 on Aug 21, 2009 12:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think that's the mandatory sentence.

And I don’t think that’s a winnable battle, even if it did go all the way to the Supreme Court. I lost track on whether this is now a conservative court or a liberal court, but either way, it doesn’t bode well for this case. Conservative justices tend to support the right of states to establish their own laws, and liberal justices likely won’t be too sympathetic against laws banning carrying handguns, especially without a license. Even if he did make that fight, that would take way longer than 2 years, and his career would for sure be done and all of his money would be gone.

I don’t know that their gun law is that crazy, it just is what it is. You can’t carry hand guns in NYC. If you do and get caught, it’s mandatory jail time. It doesn’t help that he didn’t have a carry permit for the State of New York. And it really doesn’t help that the gun discharged in public. I think the minimum sentence is actually 3 1/2 years, so 2 is getting off lightly. There are probably hundreds of people a year that get jail time for the same thing, and that was one area where they were adamant – Burress was not going to get special treatment.

Oh, I don’t pretend to be a scholar or lawyer, so all of the above is just my opinion and is very likely wrong. If you want to tell me how dumb I am, please feel free, but I would appreciate if you would cite your sources so that I can educate myself.

I would like to add that the dumbest dumb thing he did in this unfortunate situation is try to secure a gun in the waist band of sweat pants. Ridiculous.

by Baked Potato Soup on Aug 20, 2009 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess it does make sense that NY doesn't allow that.

Two years is a long time to waste your prime years of professional football on. Bet he has a boatload of regret weighing on his conscience.

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by Aaron Novinger on Aug 20, 2009 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1000

I would like to add that the dumbest dumb thing he did in this unfortunate situation is try to secure a gun in the waist band of sweat pants. Ridiculous.

A loaded gun with the safety off. Genius.

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by APerfectStar on Aug 20, 2009 7:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, but

It was illegal to own a handgun (except if purchased pre 1978) in DC under the old law, and the Court struck it down. Plax’s lawyers should have brought it up…

by SB2008 on Aug 21, 2009 12:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the law in NYC

Is that you are not allowed to carry a firearm, but you can own one. There is a difference in being allowed to own a handgun and being allowed to carry one concealed in public.

"So you can’t stiff arm at all? What about the throat?"- Marion "Barbarian" Barber

by DC_fan on Aug 21, 2009 7:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

spoken like a true Texan

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Aug 20, 2009 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I really think they made an example out of him.

I agree with the defense attorney saying if he was a regular guy, he wouldn’t even had been charged. Would’ve been a waste of state resources imo. Hes going to be in prison for longer than Vick and stallworth, guys that legitimately did wrong.

Honestly, even though the guy is a complete moron carrying a loaded gun without the safety on into a club, is that any worse than driving drunk? I guess this isn’t the palce to have this discussion, but this kinda irks me. Something like 90 days plus a large amount of community service would’ve been more appropriate i think.

by foyesboys on Aug 21, 2009 3:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

FYI

As someone that owns a Glock similar to what Plax shot himself with, I will say that there is no traditional safety on a Glock. There is a mechanism that will prevent the gun from firing if dropped, so the only way to get the gun to fire is by pulling the trigger. So I’m not sure if Plax was trying to pull the gun back up his pant leg and put his finger on the trigger or what, but the whole situation says that he was an uneducated, careless, gun owner who probably shouldn’t have owned a gun in the first place.

"So you can’t stiff arm at all? What about the throat?"- Marion "Barbarian" Barber

by DC_fan on Aug 21, 2009 7:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs