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.

There have been several reports this week, about Michael Vick’s dogs getting place and very shelters and homes.  One of those shelters is as best as I can tell something of a ranch out in Utah that specializes in taking care of abused dogs and dogs raced for dogfighting.

Monday, Michael Vick faces sentencing for his actions and transgressions.  But for the dogs that were abused and tortured and survived, they get to start a new life.  Let’s hope, someday in the distant future Michael Vick will be a start a new life and make up for what he’s done.

Pet Connection Blog » Now this is what you would call ‘a good outcome’

  In case you are getting a little weary of the Michael Vick news, there are several humorous satire articles below,mostly from the serioussportsnewsnetwork:

• Vick caught editing 2007 out of Wikipedia entry
• Vick beginning to question friends’ loyalty, integrity
• Vick named honorary PETA member
• Vick signs four ounce, $800 deal
• Harrington a happy backup

At least I think they are satire . . . .