Burress' Jail Sentence Is Unfair When Compared To Stallworth and Vick

Dan ParzychAug 27, 2009

What's bugging me this week? How about the latest jail sentence for former New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress?

In February 2008, Burress was on top of the world as he caught the game-winning touchdown from QB Eli Manning to help the Giants defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Now, he may never be able to step foot in the NFL again.

Last week, Burress accepted a settlement to spend two years in prison after pleading guilty for criminal possession of a weapon last season. Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh last November when he was walking up the stairs in a nightclub located in Manhattan, NY.

Burress claims he brought the gun to the Manhattan nightclub because he felt "unsafe" and wanted to protect himself.

For the record, I can understand why it's hard for some people to feel sorry for Burress when he made the decision to hang out at a place where he felt unsafe. However, his punishment for his actions on that night back in November is ridiculous when you compare them to the punishments received by Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick and Cleveland Browns WR Donte Stallworth.

The way I see it, Burress' sentence was harsh because it was seen as firing a gun in a public place since the shooting took place at a nightclub. However, is it really fair for him to be sentenced for two years when Vick and Stallworth's actions appear to be far worse?

Vick spent 18 months in prison because of his involvement with a dogfighting operation at one of his Virginia homes. He was responsible for killing dogs in such ways that will make a body cringe just from thinking about it.

Stallworth spent 24 days of a 30-day sentence in jail after pleading guilty to a DUI manslaughter that took the life of 59-year-old Mario Reyes last March. He was driving under the influence early one morning after drinking at a club in Miami and struck Reyes as he was crossing the street, who was leaving from his job as a crane operator.

Vick and Stallworth have both taken full responsibility for their actions. They have both served their time in prison and have to live with their bad judgments for the rest of their lives. However, both of their sentences were less harsh than Burress, despite the fact what they did was much worse.

We're talking about two guys that were responsible for taking away the lives of a humans and animals for their actions. All Burress did was accidentally shoot himself in the leg, which only harmed him, and he is the one receiving the longer jail sentence.

I understand the fact that a law is a law. Burress illegally possessed a weapon in a nightclub and should be punished for what he did.

However, his punishment should not be longer than Vick's or Stallworth's. He harmed no one but himself and has to live with that for the rest of his life.

The man regrets what he did and has learned from his mistake. He knows bringing a weapon to nightclub was a bad judgment call on his part. Not to mention that he shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Vick took the lives of harmless animals. Stallworth took the life of an innocent man. Yet, Burress is still the one who has to spend a longer period in jail for shooting himself in the leg on accident.

If you ask me, the fact that Burress' sentence is longer than the other guys just doesn't seem fair at all.

He should be faced with some jail time, but at least make the sentence shorter than the other NFL players who committed crimes far worse than what Burress did.