TFred
Regular Member
imported post
I wonder how hard it is to get the "jury nullification" idea to work... I guess you never know but what you might get a jury full of brainwashed "antis" though...
I wonder how Burress' reputation will fare compared to Michael Vick, a real criminal...
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/burress-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-weapons-case/
Burress Pleads Guilty in Weapons Case
By John Eligon
August 20, 2009, 9:30 am
Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
Updated, 11:40 a.m. | Plaxico Burress, the former Giants receiver, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, in a deal with Manhattan prosecutors that will send him to prison for two years.
Justice Michael H. Melkonian of State Supreme Court accepted the guilty plea. Under the plea agreement, along with the two-year prison sentence, Mr. Burress, 31, is to be sentenced on Sept. 22 to two years of post-release supervision. With good behavior, he will be eligible for release after slightly more than 20 months.
“This is a very sad day, because I think a very good man, who is a brilliant athlete, is unfortunately going to spend 20 months in prison,” Mr. Burress’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters after the court hearing. “After an agonizing period of discussion, Plaxico decided that he wanted to put this behind him as soon as possible.”
Mr. Brafman said he hoped his client could rehabilitate his career with the National Football League.
Mr. Burress was indicted this month on charges relating to an episode in November 2008, when he accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a Manhattan nightclub. The Giants released him in April without waiting for the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
If the case were to go to trial and Mr. Burress were convicted of all charges — two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment — he could face 3½ to 15 years in prison. The plea agreement still needs the approval of a State Supreme Court justice.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 29 at the Latin Quarter Nightclub in Midtown. Mr. Burress entered the club past security guards with a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol tucked in the waistband of his jeans. The gun was loaded and not in a holster, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Burress, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, had a license to carry the gun in Florida, but it had expired nearly seven months before the shooting. Even if it were still valid, prosecutors said, Mr. Burress would not have been allowed to carry the weapon in New York.
Shortly after Mr. Burress reached the second-floor V.I.P. area, where there were 20 to 30 people, the gun slipped down his pant leg and accidentally fired as he tried to prevent it from falling to the floor. The bullet hit Mr. Burress’s leg and narrowly missed a club security guard.
A grand jury decided not to indict Antonio Pierce, a Giants linebacker who was with Mr. Burress in the nightclub and drove him to a hospital.
I wonder how hard it is to get the "jury nullification" idea to work... I guess you never know but what you might get a jury full of brainwashed "antis" though...
I wonder how Burress' reputation will fare compared to Michael Vick, a real criminal...
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/burress-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-weapons-case/
Burress Pleads Guilty in Weapons Case
By John Eligon
August 20, 2009, 9:30 am
Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
Updated, 11:40 a.m. | Plaxico Burress, the former Giants receiver, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, in a deal with Manhattan prosecutors that will send him to prison for two years.
Justice Michael H. Melkonian of State Supreme Court accepted the guilty plea. Under the plea agreement, along with the two-year prison sentence, Mr. Burress, 31, is to be sentenced on Sept. 22 to two years of post-release supervision. With good behavior, he will be eligible for release after slightly more than 20 months.
“This is a very sad day, because I think a very good man, who is a brilliant athlete, is unfortunately going to spend 20 months in prison,” Mr. Burress’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters after the court hearing. “After an agonizing period of discussion, Plaxico decided that he wanted to put this behind him as soon as possible.”
Mr. Brafman said he hoped his client could rehabilitate his career with the National Football League.
Mr. Burress was indicted this month on charges relating to an episode in November 2008, when he accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a Manhattan nightclub. The Giants released him in April without waiting for the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
If the case were to go to trial and Mr. Burress were convicted of all charges — two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment — he could face 3½ to 15 years in prison. The plea agreement still needs the approval of a State Supreme Court justice.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 29 at the Latin Quarter Nightclub in Midtown. Mr. Burress entered the club past security guards with a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol tucked in the waistband of his jeans. The gun was loaded and not in a holster, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Burress, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, had a license to carry the gun in Florida, but it had expired nearly seven months before the shooting. Even if it were still valid, prosecutors said, Mr. Burress would not have been allowed to carry the weapon in New York.
Shortly after Mr. Burress reached the second-floor V.I.P. area, where there were 20 to 30 people, the gun slipped down his pant leg and accidentally fired as he tried to prevent it from falling to the floor. The bullet hit Mr. Burress’s leg and narrowly missed a club security guard.
A grand jury decided not to indict Antonio Pierce, a Giants linebacker who was with Mr. Burress in the nightclub and drove him to a hospital.