Michael Vick will wait for Virginia dog fighting trial
In an expense move, the Surry County prosecutor will delay Michael Vick’s trial on State dog fighting charges until he is released from federal prison.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Poindexter said it wasn’t worth the expense to the county to dispatch two deputies to escort Vick and his co-defendants from prison to Surry County for the trials, originally scheduled for this month.
Surry County, Virginia, has a population of under 7,000 people. Seven thousand in the whole county! I’ve lived in apartment buildings with more. With a populace that thin, you’ve got to watch the budget. Poindexter himself serves part time as the County’s only prosecutor.
So, why have a trial at all? And NO, I am not defending Vick and his cohorts on the original offense of animal cruelty. It’s just that the feds have already thrown the book at Vick. For Virginia to proceed now is a late hit. You get fined for that in the NFL.
Poindexter’s slow action developing the Commonwealth’s case against Vick led to the U.S. Attorney to move ahead with more serious federal charges of conspiracy to run an interstate gambling enterprise.
The fed’s case against Vick was swift. The effect was mortifying to the financier of Bad Newz Kennels.
His life is in shambles. His reputation is ruined. His career is tattered. Justice has been served.
I can understand the County’s deliberate pace developing its case. Given it’s small population, it’s budget must have dwarfed Vick’s personal fortune. However, Poindexter wondered at the time if he could win a case against Vick, who was, maybe still is, a hometown hero in Surry County. When the feds separated their charges from Virginia’s, Poindexter wondered if the U.S. government was picking on Vick because of race.
Now Poindexter is moving ahead against Vick using evidence developed by the federal government, with the trial to come when Vick is released from federal prison.
That may be the law, but it’s not justice.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 11:11 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
THE AUTHOR
RECENT NFL PODCASTS
ARCHIVE
SPONSORS
Online Seats
Detroit Lions Tickets Chiefs Tickets
Ticket Specialists
Miami Dolphins Tickets Houston Texans Tickets
Coast to Coast Tickets
NFL Football Game Tickets Tickets NFL Super Bowl NFL Football Playoff Tickets Pro Bowl NFL Tickets NCAA College Football Tickets
Bet on football with www.BetRoyal.com
6 Responses to “Michael Vick will wait for Virginia dog fighting trial”
June 10th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
You are correct…..it isn’t justice. Ture justice would have been conVick receiving the maximum penalty from the Judge in his Federal Trial…..he got off easy. Since Poindexter can’t execute himself out of a paper bag, I seriously doubt we will see real justice result from the State Charges….which by the way, are up to 5 years per dog for animal cruelty and dogfighting. Initially that number was 8 dogs but Poin-idiot has reduced it to only 4 or 5 thus the “justice” you mention could result in 5 years per dog…about 20 or so. conVick might learn his lesson by then.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Being tried and made to pay for one’s acts most certainly is justice. Vick’s crimes are so egregious he deserves both state and federal punishment. Michael Vicke was a role model for millions of boys in this country. They need to see that when you abuse and kill innocent animals, you don’t get to come back to the NFL after a year or two. Vick should do his time. All of it.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:57 am
How about Poindexter being in bed with Vick? He has used every excuse in the book not to try Vick. He dragged his feet at the start of all this not to investigate the dog fighting which is why the Feds were called in. I wonder what if anything Vick did for Pointhead????
Pointhead is an idiot that will not convict Vick if he can avoid it. Va. has laws that should be upheld. It is time that Pointhead was investigated for his acts and not allowed to practice law any longer if he has committed acts not within the system. He does not protect the Commonwealth nor carry out their laws of Va.
IMHO Surry is the den of iniquity. A message needs to be sent to them that dog fighting is NOT allowed nor will any other illegal acts. The only way to do this is get rid of Pointhead and get someone that will prosecute offenders of the law.
Vick and his partners in crime deserve the maximum punishment allowed by law.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
The writer of this article is an idiot. Vick hasn’t been prosecuted for killing dogs and animal cruelty. He has been convicted of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and sponsoring a dog in an animal fighting venture.
He has yet to spend one day in prison for the killing and torture of those dogs. That is what the state charges are about. They are different from the Federal charges.
You are right about one thing Mr. Brown. It is a late hit and very, very long overdue. He should be held accountable for animal cruelty just like anyone else.
Grow up.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Thank you for commenting Parch. My point is that, if the County acted as they should have and charged Vick on the original animal cruelty charge in a timely fashion, there would not have been federal charges. The feds only acted because Poindexter was dragging his feet.
You are right that Vick pled guilty to conspiracy charges and not to dog fighting, but the conspiracy charge arose from the same incident. For Virginia to charge now, when it’s too late for Michael Vick to weigh his legal jeopardy as he was pleading guilty to the feds is a late hit.
Ironically, by not filing State charges FIRST, Poindexter subjected Michael Vick to a greater legal risk in front of a more impartial jury in Richmond, instead of a friendlier crowd in Surry County. He is paying a harsher legal penalty than if convicted in a Surry County court.
Just because the County CAN file State charges now, doesn’t mean that they should. There is a legal principle of “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied” that protects you, me and Michael Vick. Speaking as a layman, I suspect the County will run afoul of that if they proceed.
State charges against Vick tossed out because the evidence is in violation of Michael Vick’s Fifth Amendment rights — how would that make you feel?
If Poindexter was trying to cut Vick some slack, dragging his feet was the worst possible way to do it. To proceed next year after Vick has completed his federal sentence and basing the case on Vick’s federal guilty plea just doesn’t feel right.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I live in a very rua area where I embrace all wild life. If Vick can get years for being involed in dog fighting, why cant the guy’s who continuously kill dear, hogs, and lord knows what else be convicted. I am not from America and I find this country to be very confusing, two years for dogs, and if im not mistaken theres a guy in pro football today that was convicted of vehicular homicide and didnt spend more than a day in prison. Was it Vick in prison for dog fighting or because he is who he is? Deer vs. Dogs let ask PETA which is more important to live.
Leave a comment