Vick INDICTED!

[Lady's Human]

Phred, it might have something to do with the VA da going forward with their case.

[elizabethann]

That cartoon is funny.

I feel bad for the dogs that are being put to sleep. But I would be very afraid to adopt them out to anybody under the conditions they were living in.

Vick is a pig and if he continues to play pro ball, the NFL is just as guilty as he is.

[columbine]

Chomped in effigy!

Ebayer selling dog-chewed Vick football cards for big bucks to be donated to the winner's choice of humane society! Click on the link for article with cute photo of Weimaraner chewing a card.

Love, Columbine

[Cataholic]

Frankly, the NAACP lost what teeny, tiny shred of respect that they had, when they backed, and continue to back, Vick.

This is racially motivated? The ONLY thing this is is inhumane, and that cuts across all racial lines.

If I were AA, I would be ashamed of anyone claiming this was cultural, racial, etc.

[lizbud]

Frankly, the NAACP lost what teeny, tiny shred of respect that they had, when they backed, and continue to back, Vick.

This is racially motivated? The ONLY thing this is is inhumane, and that cuts across all racial lines.

If I were AA, I would be ashamed of anyone claiming this was cultural, racial, etc.

I agree totally. The NAACP has outlived it's usefullness, if this Vick dog
fighting case is the only case they can find to champion. There are tons
of other issues they could be working to promote & things that need to be
changed, but supporting this lying piece of crap is not one of them.

[JenBKR]

Frankly, the NAACP lost what teeny, tiny shred of respect that they had, when they backed, and continue to back, Vick.

This is racially motivated? The ONLY thing this is is inhumane, and that cuts across all racial lines.

If I were AA, I would be ashamed of anyone claiming this was cultural, racial, etc.

Whoa....I didn't hear that the NAACP was backing Vick! I admit I haven't been keeping up with this thread the whole, so maybe I missed that somewhere. I was already sick about what was going on.....but for the NAACP to back him?? Racially motivated?? Do they really have nothing else better to do with their time??

[cassiesmom]

Chomped in effigy!

Ebayer selling dog-chewed Vick football cards for big bucks to be donated to the winner's choice of humane society! Click on the link for article with cute photo of Weimaraner chewing a card.

Love, Columbine

Right on! What a pretty dog!

[joycenalex]

Phred, it might have something to do with the VA da going forward with their case.

from lester munson at espn.com,The local prosecutor in Surry County, Va., where Vick built his dogfighting compound, says he will now take action against Vick. What can he do to Vick that the federal authorities haven't already done?

Gerald Poindexter, the local prosecutor, can huff and puff and seek attention, but that's about it. Vick need not worry much about Poindexter. The federal authorities have the seven witnesses, the financial records, the e-mails and all the other evidence. Poindexter can charge Vick with dogfighting under a Virginia law that makes it a felony, but any punishment the player might serve on that charge would be done at the same time Vick is serving his federal sentence. Poindexter appears to be a bit embarrassed that the feds took over an investigation that he had started, and so whatever action he ultimately takes might be motivated, at least in part, by a desire to save face.

[Lady's Human]

The prison sentences would have to be served concurrently, but if the VA prosecutor can get jail time over and above that brought by the federal court system he would have to serve that time out. (for example, Vick gets 12 months from the feds in his plea deal, but gets convicted by VA and gets a term of 36 months, he still has 24 months to serve on his state conviction when released from fed prison)

[joycenalex]

so LH is this specific mention from the nfl a hint to the Va DA to go for 24-48 months? this would keep vick from coming back to the NFL any time soon?

[Lady's Human]

Regardless of what the VA DA does, I doubt you'll be seeing Vick in an NFL uni anytime soon, probably never again.

[sasvermont]

link

This statement of facts makes me ill. I hope they get all the folks involved in this mess. I feel so sick to my stomach. What pond scum.

[lizbud]

Interesting article from the sports world. seems this plea is open to
interpretation depending on who reads it.Vick's lawyers tryed to distance
Vick from the gambling charges which could bring a 5yr sentence in federal
prison & get a lifetime ban from the NFL.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...lea/index.html

[joycenalex]

from msnbc.....RICHMOND, Va. - The prosecutor in the rural county where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation plans to present “a host of bills of indictment” regarding the case to a grand jury on Tuesday.

“Yes, I’m presenting matters to the grand jury that involve dogfighting at 1915 Moonlight Road,” Surry County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night.

Moonlight Road is the address of the two story home on 15 mostly undeveloped acres that has been host to “Bad Newz Kennels” since 2001. It’s where dozens of pit bulls were found in April, and where they were trained, fought and brutally executed.
“Most of the matters that I’m presenting have already been admitted in sworn statements authored by the defendants in the federal proceedings,” Poindexter said.

He couldn’t detail the exact indictments he will pursue, but said the local investigation and the federal investigation largely focused on different crimes.

“The killing of dogs is one of those statutory prohibitions. Dogfighting is a crime, the mistreatment of animals is a crime, so you could take your pick, or take them all,” Poindexter said before cutting the conversation short. “I don’t have anything else to say about it. I’m through with it. Hopefully it’s coming to an end.”

Vick, his co-defendants and lawyers will not attend the closed proceeding.

Efforts to reach Vick’s lawyers by telephone and e-mail were not successful.

Vick and three co-defendants have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the case, and all are awaiting sentencing in federal court before the end of the year.

Vick, who faces up to five years in prison, also has been indefinitely suspended without pay by the NFL and been dropped by all his major sponsors, including Nike.

The local charges, and a conviction, could spell an end to any hope he has of resuming his NFL career after serving a likely federal prison term. An animal cruelty charge in Virginia is punishable by up to five years in prison, and he admitted in his written plea to helping kill six to eight pit bulls days before the first raid.

That alone could expose him to as many as 40 years in prison.

Vick, in his written plea, also admitted to supplying money for gambling on the fights involving Bad Newz Kennels dogs. He said he did not personally place any bets or share in any winnings, but gave his three co-defendants all those proceeds.

The co-defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty before Vick and detailed what they said was his involvement, agreed to testify against him had the case gone to trial.
The case began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick’s cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star’s property and seized dozens of dogs, most of them pit bulls, and equipment commonly associated with dogfighting.

Six weeks later, with the local investigation perceived to be dragging and a search warrant allowed to expire, federal agents arrived with their own search warrants and started digging up dog carcasses buried days before the first raid.

Poindexter, who had been widely criticized for the pace of the investigation, reacted angrily when the feds moved in, suggesting that Vick’s celebrity was a draw, or that their pursuit of the case could have racial overtones. He later eased off those comments, saying that the sides would simply be pursuing parallel investigations.

[cassiesmom]

What is a temperament examination?

Please write a letter to U.S. Attorney Michael Gill urging him to allow all dogs who pass temperament evaluations to be taken by qualified rescue organizations

Is it something specific to the pit bull? Is it conducted by an expert? I would hate for a dog to be deemed unrescueable and put down, or for a dog found rescueable to be involved later in an accident with a person.

Can you re-train a pit bull (or any aggressive dog, really) to learn to get along with people? Look at retired racing greyhounds, they really have no experience with being part of a family until they go through an adoption program. Once they retire, they have to learn everything about living in a home and being a pet. Those folks must have expertise with identifying the few who can't successfully adapt to a life after racing, but it seems like the great majority of greyhound "retirees" do just fine.