Burress pleads guilty to weapons charge, agrees to two-year term

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/08/20/plaxico.ap/index.html?eref=BrkNews

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty Thursday to a weapons charge and agreed to a two-year prison term for accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nightclub.

The ex-wide receiver pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a lesser charge than he initially faced. Under a plea agreement, he agreed to a two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised release.

Burress was indicted earlier this month on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. He faced a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years if convicted at a trial.

The guilty plea ends months of haggling between Burress' attorney and the Manhattan district attorney's office. The case went to a grand jury earlier this month after negotiations broke down, apparently because District Attorney Robert Morgenthau was insisting that Burress serve at least two years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said it is standard policy to request a two-year sentence as part of a plea bargain on such serious charges. Sentencing was set for Sept. 22.

..snip

And the dog killer got less time than Plaxico will.

and that first time drunk drivers usually get zero jail time to, at most, a few months (I consider the crimes to be very much equally bad and very similar in their nature), I think this is a gross miscarriage of justice. The mayor and prosecutor should both be run out of office for their actions.

Stallworth killed someone and got 30 days. Burress shot himself. I just don't understand this or the fact that he accepted this plea.

...that's why; however, I agree, doesn't make sense in the grand scheme of things.

From last December:

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 12-2-08

Mayor Bloomberg fuming over Plaxico shooting: "Throw the book at him."

An irate Mayor Bloomberg Monday demanded that prosecutors throw the book at Giants star Plaxico Burress for bringing a loaded handgun into a crowded midtown nightclub and accidentally shooting himself in the leg.

<snip>

New York law requires a minimum of 31/2 years in prison for a conviction of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, the charge Burress faces. "I don't think that anybody should be exempt from that," Bloomberg said. "It would be an outrage if we don't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

Not prosecuting celebrities would make "a sham, a mockery of the law," the mayor asserted. The mandatory sentencing would not necessarily apply if Burress is offered a plea bargain.

LINK: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/12/01/2008-12-01_mayor_bloomberg_fuming_over_plaxico_shoo-3.html

...a Dem turned Repuke who bent over for Bush at every opportunity.

some sort of home confinement. Prison is for criminals, not idiots.

as that gun could have hit someone else, not him, if it hurts Bloomberg's re-election chances, fine with me.

Two years is too much, imo. What he did was certainly dumb as a Republican but, with no priors and no one hurt but himself and his reputation, I think it's a bit much. 6 months and a couple years probation and, if legal, no firearms owned under that time (I have no idea if that's legal or not though).

to kick a duck in the ass.

And where the fuck is the NRA in all this? Bunch of bed-wetting pansies.

Fuck 'em all.

:evilfrown:

someone who brought an unlicensed loaded gun into a nightclub and shot himself.

which only goes to show the crazy patchwork quilt of gun laws in various states. . .you literally don't know where you're legal and where you're not.

That does make it more confusing.

...yeah, he knew he wasn't supposed to take it anywhere with an expired license.

Yep. Plax would have been better off killing someone while driving under the influence. No doubt he was a fool to pack that weapon the way he did and shoot himself, but I bet there are NYC felons who commited burglaries and robberies and got far less jailtime.

Get going! We're losing!

much in the way of that stuff here. Or at least we haven't for several weeks! :evilgrin:

But I see he got a haircut

And the Cheatriots!