Michael Vick Loses 23 Months to Jail

Today, Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting. If Vick is a model inmate, that could be reduced by up to 3 months for good behavior, meaning the length of the prison stay will be no less than 20 months. We still must realize that this is a young man, being sent to prison in the prime of his life, yet he will still have the chance at life after jail.

His jail time is slightly more than that of his two co-defendants who have already been sentenced, understandable based on the fact the Vick was the entire backbone of this situation. Vick's stardom in the NFL, and the money he made because of it, is the reason that this dog fighting ring was able to grow as big as it did. The fact that this was Michael Vick obviously made him the only person that anyone in the media seemed to care about, but the justice system in this case seemed to be able to put aside the fact that this was a superstar, and take this case for what it was, one man among many who was slightly more culpable than the others. He didn't get a sentence out of line with what he did, not too heavy, not too light.

I firmly believe that the Judge, going into this very difficult situation, handled it as well as anyone could have asked for. It certainly sends a message to stars in sports across America that if you get caught, you won't get leniency in a heinous crime like this. On the other hand, a message was sent to those that hang around these stars when each of his co-defendants got quite hefty jail sentences as well. That message is basically that just because you may not be the most high profile member in a crime, don't think that you'll be able to take a plea deal and come away relatively free.