Mayor Bloomberg Makes a Mockery of the Law - Or Not

James King wrote a scathing attack of Mayor Bloomberg for The Village Voice.  He accused the mayor of making a mockery of the law for sending Plaxico to jail but not the Marine from Indiana.

To me it sounds like a thinly veiled Bloomberg-hate piece. The two cases demonstrate a fair application of the law.  The author himself pointed out the major reason why.

There are a few differences in the two cases -- for starters, Jerome didn't accidentally shoot himself at a crowded night club.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Plaxico Gets 2 Years

Yahoo News reports on the story of Plaxico Burress's sentencing.

Former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress apologized to his family and tearfully kissed his wife and young son goodbye Tuesday before he was led away to prison to begin serving a two-year sentence on a weapons charge.

Burress, at the time a star receiver with the New York Giants, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan last November when a gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him in the thigh.

The gun was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where Burress lived. His license to carry a concealed weapon in Florida had expired in May 2008.

When we discussed this last time I suggested that he not be sent to prison. I think this confused some of our pro-gun commenters who think I'm unreasonably against guns and anything to do with them. Actually, I don't think all gun crime should be punished severely and certainly not with prison sentences.

I think Plaxico was stupid, he made a stupid mistake. Although what he did endangered others, he himself was the only one hurt. To me it seems a terrible waste to put talented behind bars if heavy fines and strict supervision would accomplish the task of ensuring they don't do it again.

What's your opinion? What's accomplished by his incarceration? Phuck Politics said it was racial. Do you think that could be the case?

His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said previously that Burress was thinking of his family — including his wife and young son, Elijah — in taking the plea, but Brafman questioned the fairness of the recommended prison sentence.

"This was not an intentional criminal act," Brafman said the day of the plea. "In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment."

Before sentencing Tuesday, Brafman called Burress "a fundamentally decent man."

"This is a very real tragic case in many, many ways," Brafman said.

Defense attorneys will say anything. "This was not an intentional criminal act," is pretty funny, but calling the 2-year sentence "very severe punishment," seems right to me.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Plaxico Burress Indicted

Because I always try to do what Il Principe says, I'm linking to this story in Reuters.

Former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted on Monday on two felony counts accusing him of criminal possession of a weapon and one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment, prosecutors said.

Burress, 31, who caught the winning touchdown in the Giants' Super Bowl victory in February 2008, was released by the team after a November 2008 incident in which he accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub.

When we talked about this last time, I quoted Bryan Miller lamenting the fact that Burress hadn't been suspended. In today's report it says he "was released by the team." Is that different?

Under New York's strict gun laws, Plaxico is charged with possession of a gun, possession of a loaded gun outside the home or business, and possession of a loaded gun with the intent to harm another. If convicted he'll probably do some time, which could range from a year or two all the way up to 15.

What's your opinion? What would be wrong with putting him in the same category as the white collar criminals? For them I usually recommend strict supervision and heavy fines but no jail time. Wouldn't this guy be better able to contribute as a professional athlete than as a convict?

What's your opinion? For me the question is this, does society need to be protected from Plaxico Burress to the point that he needs to be locked away? What do you think?

Please leave a comment.