Michael Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Federal Prison

Posted on December 10, 2007
Filed Under Major Developments |

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The Judge responsible for Michael Vick’s sentencing has delivered a sentence of 23 months, slightly less than half the total amount that Michael Vick could have received.  Michael Vick has served 1 month already of that 23 month sentence.  According to sentencing guidelines, Michael Vick must serve at least 85% of his sentence, approximately 18 months.  So Michael Vick could be out of jail as early as mid May of 2009 with good behavior.

Lies After the Accusation

Many people think that Michael Vick could have avoided this prison term if he had been more forthright early on in the investigation.  Instead Michael Vick denied any wrong doing and denied his own involvement in the dog fighting rings, in the torture of dogs, and the killing of dogs.  He lied to the public, he lied to the NFL commissioner, he lied to the Atlanta Falcons, and he lied to Federal prosecutors.

He told everyone he wasn’t involved, but the truth was buried on his property.  ~ Talking Heads on ESPN News

There is nothing wrong with a person proclaiming their innocence.  Michael Vick however according to all the evidence uncovered and offered by his own defense and prosecutors and his own admission of guilt, was guilty.  Michael Vick could have cooperated early on and probably would have only faced some fines and possibly probation in the State of Virginia.

Instead his lies ultimately brought in Federal Investigators tracking the illegal gambling circuit that Michael Vick participated and promoted that covered at least 3 states.  One person in that dog fighting ring was even murdered 8 days after investigators raided Michael Vick’s Virginia home.

The prosecutors ultimately felt like Vick intentionally misled them.  He seems to have misled all those other people.  The Judge might have given him 12-18 months per the tone of the plea deal, but instead came down with a heavier sentence although not as tough as it could have been without a plea deal. He could have been given 5 years. 

The judge cited at least 4 cases where Vick lied or was less than honest including Vick’s lies about smoking marijuana to an officer of the court. 

Actions After the Plea Deal

Michael Vick’s sentence was probably partially influenced by his own actions after he admitted guilt.  His actions all year seemed to continue to be self destructive in nature up until September. 

He tested positive for marijuana use in September.  That may have been the actual wake up call that brought Michael Vick around.  After that Michael Vick agreed to take classes with PETA and ultimately surrendered early in November and started serving prison time.

Many legal analysts thought that Vick may have received bad legal advice.  If he had been forthright early on, he could have received a better deal, but instead he held out until the end until all the witnesses caved in and testified against him. 

He could have started serving prison time shortly after admitting guilt.  If he had done that he would have avoided the marijuana usage, and might have demonstrated more sincere remorse early on.  Instead the remorse seemed to trickle out over several months, giving his critics fuel and his supporters little motivation to rise to his defense.

According to the Plea deal Michael Vick was also supposed to provide truthful testimony about other people involved in dog fighting and according to the judge, this did not happen.  If Michael Vick had cooperated with other investigations, he might have been given more leniency.

NFL Indefinite Suspension

The NFL has not yet commented on Michael Vick’s sentence.  The NFL is not doing Vick any favors here.  They are hedging their bets to see which way the wind blows.  They have managed to leave their options open so that they can welcome Vick back to the NFL if there is a player worth welcoming back.  I put a heavy emphasis on the word ‘worth’ in that last sentence.

The NFL may drop the suspension that day Vick gets out of jail or they may keep the suspension going for ever or they may match the length of the suspension to the length of the prison sentence.  They will definitely wait to see what happens with the charges in state court.  They may wait to see how fans react.  If fans think that the 23 month sentence is too harsh, the NFL may step in as a godfather and offer suspension relief after prison.

The NFL has not taken the high road in this case.  They relied on Vick’s false assertions after the fact. They never paid attention to what Vick really did throughout his NFL career.  They did not pay attention to the facts of the investigation after they came out.  They treated Vick like an investment in property hoping that they could salvage that investment if things did not turn out so bad.

We do not Condone Punishing Vick by Sending him back into NFL Servitude

Many people have said that Vick should be able to go back to his job after prison.  This site is against that because it would be a reward for Vick to go back into the limelight that helped to create this situation. A few of our commentors have suggested that we are hitting Vick when he is down with this goal.  We’d like to suggest that if we wanted to see bad things happen to Vick, which we do not, if we wanted the worst for Michael Vick, we would encourage the organization that is primarily responsible for his downfall to take him back.  If we wanted to see bad things happen to Vick as some sort of sick retribution, we’d see him go back to the NFL where they treat Michael Vick like a property investment.

Did Vick’s Upbringing or the NFL Prompt him to do Sick Things?

Michael Vick did some sick and twisted things in his private life.  It is hard to tell if he was inspired to do those sick and twisted things due to some event in his upbringing, his neighborhood, or his schooling and training before the NFL.  It is hard to tell if he was inspired to do those sick and twisted things by the culture in the NFL itself.  After he was first charged, many players came to his defense with claims that dog fighting was normal and accepted in the NFL.  Maybe the NFL culture is as sick if not more sick and twisted that Vick’s behavior from the day he entered the NFL until last spring.

Writing a New Future for Michael Vick

Regardless of what did happen, Michael Vick now has to attempt to learn from his mistakes and determine how to navigate his future.  He could go back to the culture that harbored his dog fighting, dog killing and dog gambling life style.  He could go back into the belly of the beast and work to avoid temptations.  He could also choose another path.

Michael Vick could reinvent himself and do so in a way without football.  Right now he is heavily associated with football and dog fighting and lies.  If he wants to reinvent himself, he may need to wipe the slate clean.  He does not need to be defined by his career.  If he can rebuild his character he can be defined by many other things as he goes forward and works to build a better future.

Michael Vick’s Finances - Not as Bad as they Seem

There are a lot of things that may happen with Vick’s finances, but it is unlikely that he will be broke or even poor.  A good deal of his fortune can easily be protected in a number of retirement vehicles that can not be touched by the courts (OJ is the model for this.)

Sure he has and will sell some assets that he does not need.  He has also moved to Florida where he can take advantage of lenient bankruptcy laws, but bankruptcy for Vick is more of a paper pushing exercise as opposed to truly going broke.

People all across the United States are getting foreclosed on and going bankrupt.  They will know financial troubles light years beyond those that Michael Vick will experience.  He has definitely lost a great deal of money and potential earnings by his own actions, but he need not leave prison a poor man.

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Comments

14 Responses to “Michael Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Federal Prison”

  1. Hawaii on December 10th, 2007 12:43 pm

    Dan Patrick was talking about the likelihood of Vick coming back to play after prison. He didn’t think it likely. He made the point that you can kill a man (like Leonnard little with his DUI) but not a dog.
    I certainly hope Vick doesn’t come back.

    At least the message that dogfighting is a big deral crime is out there now.

  2. John Q Publix on December 10th, 2007 12:51 pm

    He should have gotten the chair for this. 23 months is a slap on the wrist, he will probably be treated like royalty in prison with the rest of his kind.
    Face it, he will be out in 6 months on good behavior.
    He needs to be punished the way he punished those dogs, EYE FOR AN EYE!
    Rot in hell Michael Vick!

  3. San Diego on December 10th, 2007 1:36 pm

    Wow, his cell is probably a lot different than what he is use to in his current home (here’s the home if you haven’t seen it http://www.housefront.com/2021022 )…and I think that if someone wants him back int he NFL than they can go for it all anyone cares about in the NFL is results if you win than your loved if you dont than your worthless.

  4. DogLover332 on December 10th, 2007 3:44 pm

    Hawaii,
    The pundits are now saying that Vick will be 29 when he is eligible to get out (after 18 months) and before the 2009 training camp. And I’m glad that people will now see the level of severity of this type of crime. Although there is a case to be made that Vick’s own actions after the crime were a major factor in the sentence.

    John Q Publix,
    I don’t think Vick should get the chair for this myself, and they say that the shortest sentence he might serve is 18 months. I have to wonder if he might reconsider his lack of cooperation with prosecutors and start to roll over on the other people in dog fighting rings that were a part of this. It would appear that he is covering for someone, even though I have no idea why he would do that unless that person has something even more heinous on Vick.

    San Diego,

    True the NFL is a corporation first. For myself at least this case has brought that home. Intellectually, I understood it but something about this case helped make the ethical connection to what the NFL truly inspires in its athletes.

  5. Michael Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Jail on December 10th, 2007 7:47 pm

    […] Michael Vick Related […]

  6. LA on December 10th, 2007 11:11 pm

    So why is it when we kill a man it’s murder, but when we kill an animal it’s not an atrosity? Thou shalt not kill is not limited to those with opposable thumbs, is it? It’s okay to quote the bible when it serves man…but, what about God’s creatures who are here for us to protect. This man is getting special treatment because he can catch a ball. My dog can catch a ball, but if he didn’t catch it properly around Mike V, he’d catch 1000 volts. My question is…when will these kids get that money does not buy you either a place in the community or a place in the Heaven that their Mothers preached to them about. We have allowed this to happen by elevating these young men to a class they obliousely have not earned…i.e. what was Johnny U. doing when he wasn’t earning his 12k playing footbal? I think he was taking care of his family…that probably included a dog. The judge in this case should be ashamed of the lack of balls that he showed. Twenty-three months for the murders Michael V committed is a joke.

  7. No More Incumbents Blog - Working to insure natural term limits by removing all incumbents from office. » Revelations of Huckabee’s son reminiscent of Michael Vick - Revelations of Huckabee Himself reminiscent of Bill Clinton on December 17th, 2007 7:42 pm

    […] It was later revealed that Huckabee and a camp counselor cohort, strung the dog up and hanged it from a tree.  This story coming out just a few days after Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison. […]

  8. Charles Lester on December 29th, 2007 3:24 pm

    I am decided: It is immoral to sentence Michael Vick on this, as the crime itself is silly, and totally stupid.

    Michael Vick is no more a criminal than any grocery store owner?Why is it such that the man who makes money off of the death and mutilation of chickens, pigs, cows, fish, shrimp, etc. a respectable business man where a Michael Vick a “threat” to society? By what standard is a dog more sacred than any of these other animals?

    Laws should ONLY govern how human beings deal with one another. I believe that once we can get interaction within our own species down a bit better, then perhaps we should look into intra-species legislation. Perhaps at that point we will then grant dogs the right to a fair trial, health care and free education.

    FREE MICHAEL VICK!

    His being jailed is a moral tragedy

  9. doglover332 on December 29th, 2007 5:14 pm

    Thanks for your perspective Charles. Keep in mind that the charges were not dog killing nor dog fighting.

    Also, a person in Vick’s illegal dog fighting gambling ring was murdered in this affair.

  10. Todd on August 1st, 2008 8:58 am

    Mike vick should be allowed to play football again. He paid his debt to society by going to prison. Why should he be punished for life over some dog fight. Let the man have his life back after he gets out. All you peta supporters give it a break, please. Everyone makes mistakes in this life, even you, pita.

  11. DogLover332 on August 1st, 2008 11:23 am

    Thanks for your comment Todd. I own the site and I am do belong to Peta nor work with them or anything like that.

    That said, Vick did three things wrong ultimately.

    1. He broke the law and is paying the price as you point out.
    2. He also screwed over the NFL and his sponsors. Allowing him to play again doesn’t fix this problem.
    3. He screwed over his fans, which enabled him to make ridiculous amounts of money through his sponsors. No influence over people, no sponsors.

    In general the goal to keep him out of the NFL has less to do with punishing vick and more to do with making things right.

  12. Tim Bowman on August 11th, 2008 1:29 am

    O.J. Simpson walks after killing 2 people and Michael Vick is doing 23 months and it costsed him over $150 million dollars? Enough is enough I want Mike back in the league…

  13. Mr007 on August 29th, 2008 5:49 pm

    I feel that Michael Vick made a very bad judgement and he should have had to do something to make up for his bad judgement. It would have been much more for our kids advantage for him to have paid a heavy fine to the animal shelters and for him to speak to our kids on how dog fighting is cruel and not a sport. I see on tv every day all these sportsman out there shooting deer,bears, and so many other animals and that is suppose to be ok. I feel that this sport is just as bad. I would like to contact Michael Vick so if anyone can give me and address it would be very much appreciated at my email topdesigners@sbcglobal.net I would like Michael to know that I have been praying for him, believe my I know when someone really needs prayer because I have been their. GOD Bless You All Mr007

  14. DogLover332 on August 29th, 2008 6:01 pm

    This site has no way of knowing how to get in touch with Michael Vick.

    That said, we also do not encourage anyone from exchanging the information if you have it with someone you do not know.

    If you truly want to get in touch with Michael Vick, I recommend a letter to his attorneys, who are publicly identified in many areas.

    We here definitely do not want to see Michael Vick harmed or even to suffer anything resembling hate mail or email or what have you, which is why we are discouraging the exchange of this information.

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