Quote Originally Posted by Alysser View Post
Here's my 2 cents..


Do I think he should be back in the NFL? No. But do I think he deserves a second chance? Sure. I'm all for people re-building their lives. I will never like the guy again but you can't change the past. Sure he HAS apologized, I didn't believe a word of it when I saw the video, but what's done is done. HOPEFULLY, in some way he realizes what he has done and will endeavor to be a better person. Redemption won't change the past, he still needs to live with this for the rest of his life - or at least the rest of his football career.

This is worth a public outcry, certainly. But people seem to forget what other players have done too. I am by no means, telling anyone to "get over it", but am just pointing out this type of thing happens quite a bit. Remember Donte Stallworth, sentenced to 30 DAYS for a DUI MANSLAUGTER? 30 days, that's it. I mean, at least Vick got two years. He also got a second chance and is playing on the Ravens if I remember correctly.
http://www.justnews.com/news/19766406/detail.html
The taking of any life is wrong, to me. Having said that, there is a difference between someone drinking and getting behind the wheels of a car and accidently taking the life of another (it was a manslaughter charge, not a murder charge) then MV, time and again, with 'malice aforethought, torturing these dogs. A big difference. This is not about the value of a human life over an animals life (though, again, to me, they are both precious and not mine to take). This is about a conscious, repeated, thought out act, time and again. Big, big difference in the intent, the mindset, of the defendant.

To give it an example that doesn't involve a loss of any life. To me, it it MUCH worse of a crime when someone spray paints a neighbor's car then it is when someone damages another's car in a car accident. Both cause property damage, but the crime can be treated differently in the system, all because of the mind set of the defendant.

There are former criminals in all walks of life, and I have always believed in paying one's debt to society, and then moving on. I know first hand the difficulties of returning to a 'normal' life. I have a client that was a convicted felon- gun possession in the course of a robbery. He served time- 6 years. He finally found someone that would give him a second chance. He is a stand up guy. I would trust him in my home, around my child, with my money (if I had any..LOL). I don't put him and MV in the same universe. Some crimes are not so much about the act, as they are about the person. MV is, IMO, in that category.