[vincesanity82]

On Monday, lawyers for Mike Vick said on his behalf that he plans to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges relating to dog fighting, and that he is accepting responsibility for his actions.

But his acceptance of responsibility apparently goes only so far.

ESPN reports that Vick will not admit to killing dogs or to gambling. Citing an unnamed source, ESPN says that Vick's legal team met with federal officials on Thursday to hammer out the statement of facts that Vick will sign on Monday when he enters a guilty plea. Vick reportedly maintains that he never killed a dog and never gambled on a dog fight.

The tactic isn't surprising, since refusing to admit to killing a dog or to gambling on a dog fight will enhance Vick's ability to avoid Virginia charges and a lengthy NFL suspension.


WTF, either he's just stupid or just wants a longer sentence..how can you plead guilty and then say you never did it? It doesnt go both ways..

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[vincesanity82]

The initial report ignored completely the question of whether federal prosecutors agreed to the limitation on Vick's acceptance of responsibility. An update posted at 5:02 a.m. EDT notes that Vick's attorneys believed that they struck an agreement with prosecutors regarding Vick's limited plea.
As to the killing of dogs on his Surry County property, Vick will admit that he was present but that he did not kill dogs. Vick obviously is splitting hairs on this in an effort to avoid liability for animal cruelty under Virginia law.

So Vick has gone from saying "I never go there" to "I never kill dogs there."

Besides, Vick's limited plea doesn't exonerate him from scrutiny under Virginia law. Section 3.1-796.122 of the Virginia statutes does not apply only to people who actually kill dogs. If a person "instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal" resulting in death, the person is still guilty of a Class 6 felony, which means up to five years in jail per count.

And, really, should the fact that Vick was merely supervising the dog killing make any difference? If the mob boss who watches his capo put a bullet in the guy is just as guilty of murder as the person who pulled the trigger, why isn't Vick responsible for the killing of dogs that he owned when the killings occurred on his property while he was present? (A reader tells us that Chris Mortensen of ESPN articulated a similar view last night.)

Plain and simple, the Vick lawyers are trying to pull a fast one. On Monday, they created the impression that Vick will admit to everything, causing many to proclaim that coming clean is his first step toward getting a second chance. On Thursday, the universe of "everything" to which he will admit has been restricted significantly, all in the name of accelerating the timetable for his second chance.

The only problem is that Commissioner Roger Goodell "gets it," and will regard for what it is this transparent attempt by Vick to force his way back onto the field. And it will influence, in our opinion, the ultimate penalty that Goodell imposes.

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[EmpireWF]

It's possible that the Judge could tell them to rework the plea deal or just throw it out completely if he feels the evidence strongly points against Vick's claims of innocence (or non-involvement).

[3fanforever]

Sounds like "I smoked marijuana one time, but I didn't inhale."
How stupid does Vick think we all are. And more importantly, does he really thing the judge is gonna buy that load of crap?

Keep in mind this case is in Federal court. Once it's over, no matter what happens to Vick, the state of Virginia can pursue him on state charges, and haul him back into court for those. Just because the Federal trial is over, doesn't mean this is going away for Vick, as much as he's dreaming it will.

[vincesanity82]

The thing that discredits it is that hes lied so much, why should we believe him now, its obvious what hes trying to do..but like the article pointed out, even if he was just supervising the killings hes just as guilty as the one who pulled the trigger..

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Oh, I suppose that all of you when faced with 1 year as oppose to say 15 years worth of jail time would not try to negotiate the plea bargain...

Look, the man is a jerk, granted...but come on now...everyone is now willing to throw the first stone at every single thing he does?...Spare me...I personally would look for the least harmful plea bargain to save my skin...would love to hear all those that would stand up and take the maximum sentence based on personal integrity...while there might be a few, I doubt it would be a lot of people.

[EmpireWF]

Well in a turn of events, Vick will admit to participating in the murder of dogs as well as the conspiracy charges.


CNN

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by EmpireWF

Well in a turn of events, Vick will admit to participating in the murder of dogs as well as the conspiracy charges.


CNN

He might plea to killing the dogs, but I think the legal definition of murder is with regards to human being as...

murder n. the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought (prior intention to kill the particular victim or anyone who gets in the way), and with no legal excuse or authority

Just goes to show how in general Vick is viewed...we have raised killing of an animal (however brutal) to murder...

[LSC9901]

With all due respect I think the term went from killing to murder because of the level of discussion on this subject. I think we can all agree on the definitions and which one actually applies. Our passion for him to pay the price has changed it from killing to murder.

[vincesanity82]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

He might plea to killing the dogs, but I think the legal definition of murder is with regards to human being as...

murder n. the killing of a human being by a sane person, with intent, malice aforethought (prior intention to kill the particular victim or anyone who gets in the way), and with no legal excuse or authority

Just goes to show how in general Vick is viewed...we have raised killing of an animal (however brutal) to murder...

theres also: To put an end to; destroy, To spoil by ineptness; mutilate:, I dont think its always a human, you can murder many things..

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by vincesanity82

theres also: To put an end to; destroy, To spoil by ineptness; mutilate:, I dont think its always a human, you can murder many things..

I disagree...I think that in things legal, it's humans...

[vincesanity82]

We've reviewed in detail the plea agreement signed by Michael Vick on Thursday, along with the statement of facts.

Notwithstanding the anonymous source who told the anonymous reporter at ESPN that Vick would not admit to killing dogs or to gambling, Vick admits to everything.

In paragraph 1, Vick pleads guilty to conspiracy to establish, maintain, etc. an interstate gambling enterprise and conspiracy to engage in interstate dog fighting.

In paragraph 2, Vick admits that the Surry County property to which he initially said he never goes was the main staging area for housing and training pit bulls for fighting.

In paragraph 3, Vick admits to being involved in dog fights at the Surry County property, and to participating in dog fights in other states.

In paragraph 4, Vick admits that the enterprise involved gambling activities in violation of Virginia law. Vick denies that he placed side bets on any fights, or that he received process from the purses. (However, he admits that he was the primary source of funds for the operation. If the winnings went only to his co-defendants, then that's less money Vick had to give them to get them to continue to tend to the operation while he was "at work" for the Atlanta Falcons.)

In paragraph 9, Vick admits that he began acquiring dogs for the operation in "2001-2002," and that the "Bad Newz Kennels" were established in 2002.

In paragraph 12, Vick admits that he knew the other defendants "killed a number of dogs" that did not perform well in testing sessions in 2002. Vick denies killing any dogs at that time.

In paragraph 32, Vick admits that in April 2007 -- the same month in which he say face-to-face with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and denied that dog fighting was occurring on his land -- he agreed with Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips to kill six-to-eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions. Here's the key passage:

"[A]ll of those dogs were killed by various methods, including hanging and drowning. VICK agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts of PEACE, PHILLIPS, and VICK."

Case closed. He admits to gambling, and he admits to killing dogs.

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[vincesanity82]

so vick is going to be an informant for the govt. and give out other names..interesting..maybe this will cut down the sentence length..