Browns WR Stallworth hits, kills Fla. pedestrian

[salsadancer7]

Reports today that a surveillance video exists that recorded the accident and that could have helped steer this whole thing toward the plea deal.

ProFootballTalk.com - Video Exists Of Stallworth Accident

I loved this part of your link:

the ultimate question for a jury would have been whether the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Stallworth caused or contributed to the death of Mario Reyes. At a minimum, the contents of the tape, as they have been described to us, indicate that a reasonable jury could have found reasonable doubt.

LMAO!! Let me get this straight....this source stated that by what HE/SHE saw, there would be enough to cast reasonable doubt??!! Let me guess, he must have worked for Stallworths' lawyers.

Just the simple fact that you have a drunk, RICH athlete hitting a hard working family man just getting off work and all the this person did was flash the lights, instead of stopping....would have AUTOMATICALLY made the jury go into this with wanting to hang Stallworth. IT would have taken ALOT to change a jury's mind to shift any blame on the victim.

 

[meStevo]

It's clear who here want to hang him....

Shared blame is a fundamental fact of the case. There is no ignoring that like you want there to be or he would have faced very different charges.

 

[salsadancer7]

It's clear who here want to hang him....

Shared blame is a fundamental fact of the case. There is no ignoring that like you want there to be or he would have faced very different charges.

I don't want anyone to hang.....but I personally think he got off easy. Plain and simple. AGAIN, my issue is not with the law because IF a judge didn't like it, he/she can think it was too lenient or too stiff....and rule according to what they want.

 

[meStevo]

For a misdemeanor, that's really a pretty tough sentence I think. Rich people don't get harsher sentances because their lifestyle allows for them to bounce back from it easier. 2 years house arrest, losing his license forever, these would be pretty devastating for any of us. The 30 days in jail is just a sexy headline at most. Being more heavy handed on him outside of something like a bail amount would violate the 4th amendment that basically states all men are created equal.

Other facts not revealed could have led to it being this harsh, such as the unconfirmed but not denied marijuana in his system at the time of the accident.

 

[salsadancer7]

For a misdemeanor, that's really a pretty tough sentence I think. Rich people don't get harsher sentances because their lifestyle allows for them to bounce back from it easier. 2 years house arrest, losing his license forever, these would be pretty devastating for any of us. The 30 days in jail is just a sexy headline at most. Being more heavy handed on him outside of something like a bail amount would violate the 4th amendment that basically states all men are created equal.

Other facts not revealed could have led to it being this harsh, such as the unconfirmed but not denied marijuana in his system at the time of the accident.

NOT for a misdemeanor that KILLED someone. I honestly believe that whether he was jaywalking or not, it would not have got hit by Stallworth either way because he was not gonna stop.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Since the recent discussion has turned to sentence v. crime, how does this one from the world of sports rank?:

One of the two men involved in the 2008 theft of a rare Lance Armstrong bike will be sentenced to a three-year prison term next week.

Lee Monroe Crider, 40, pleaded no contest June 1 to second-degree burglary and grand theft, the Sacramento Bee reported on its Web site, citing court documents. Crider is scheduled to return to court next Monday for sentencing, the Bee reported.

The newspaper did not say if Crider has a prior criminal record.

Also on June 1, co-defendant Dung Hoang Le pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation, according to the report.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=4280331"]Stealing Lance Armstrong's bike warrants lengthy jail term - ESPN[/ame]

 

[meStevo]

It's more severe because of the value of the property. Grand theft is a felony and depending on value of the items stolen could have gotten him as much as 5 years.

I'm not a lawyer btw, just know how to find stuff on Google

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Actually I guess I wasn't clear enough. I was referring to comparing the crimes the above "gentlemen" perpetrated and the sentences they received against what Mr. Stallworth did and the "punishment" he received....

 

[meStevo]

I think in these 2 different cases, the disparity in the sentances is because of how the laws are setup. This is probably why Florida has a specific DUI Manslaughter law, because there was some case of it in the past that someone got off the hook light, so they instituted a mandatory sentence for it. Stallworth got out from under that because the blame was all his, the family could have had problems winning a civil suit if the video tape shows the victim cross the street outside of the crosswalk (or doing cartwheels or something).

There were a lot of circumstances to consider both for (the biggest - shared fault) and against (drinking, possibly drugs) Stallworth, while the other example is just some guys jacking a bike.

OJ would be another good recent example, he faced a lot more than he would have because someone had a gun. It wasn't used, and probably wouldn't have really helped execute the crime, but because it was there the penalties were so much worse than what they could have been.

 

[meStevo]

Lawyer confirmed this morning that he had traces of Marijuana in his system, which just means he may have smoked it within the last week, not that he was high.

Though that's the lawyer saying that. Doesn't mean he wasn't high during the accident, but I assume there'd be more than traces if he was.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/07/01/stallworths-blood-showed-traces-of-marijuana/

 

[HD MM]

911 Phone Call Released...

Stallworth:“Ok, listen, listen…This guy just ran in front of my car and he’s (expletive) laying in the street dude…I, I…”

Dispatch: “So you hit somebody in the street?”

Stallworth: “Yeah, you gotta send an ambulance right now man.” [...] “He ran in front of the car sir, he like jumped in front of the car. Oh no. [Expletive.] Oh my God, this guy is…oh…”

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4297460"]Donte Stallworth: Victim 'just ran in front of my car' before fatal crash - ESPN[/ame]
​

 

[vurbano]

It's clear who here want to hang him....

Shared blame is a fundamental fact of the case. There is no ignoring that like you want there to be or he would have faced very different charges.

shared blame? He flashed his lights at the man to warn him instead of slowing down. HE chose to kill that ma, he murdered him with his car while he was drunk and high and gets 24 days in jail? That would be one dead MF if it were my father, son, brother etc.

 

[meStevo]

/shrug, ignore the law all you want, it doesn't change the facts. I'm not going to argue for/against some theoretical opportunity to stop on a road I've never driven on and about timing of flashing lights while drunk and hitting someone illegally crossing vs stopping/swerving, it's just impossible. Fact is they were both at fault, that's why he has reduced time, 2 years home confinement, multiple fines going to charity, will never have a license again and will lose several million dollars via not being able to play in the NFL for however long or ever. So feel free to continue to misrepresent both the facts and the sentence if it makes you feel better but you're not going to win any arguments like that.

 

[meStevo]

Judge ruled today to not release the video of the accident.

 

[salsadancer7]

/shrug, ignore the law all you want, it doesn't change the facts. I'm not going to argue for/against some theoretical opportunity to stop on a road I've never driven on and about timing of flashing lights while drunk and hitting someone illegally crossing vs stopping/swerving, it's just impossible. Fact is they were both at fault, that's why he has reduced time, 2 years home confinement, multiple fines going to charity, will never have a license again and will lose several million dollars via not being able to play in the NFL for however long or ever. So feel free to continue to misrepresent both the facts and the sentence if it makes you feel better but you're not going to win any arguments like that.

Maybe it's me....but doesn't the 9-1-1 call say ONE thing and his story to the police say something else? I mean IF he did just 'jump out of no where' like he stated in his 9-1-1 call, then that means he had NO TIME to react....whether it was stopping, flashing his lights, swerve or whatever... Then WHY did he tell the cops he "flashed his lights"?! To me, IF he was far enough to see him from a distance to flash his lights....that means he DID have time to swerve/stop.

 

[meStevo]

I don't know, sounds like splitting hairs. If I saw a guy on the median crossing where he wasnt supposed to and I was flying along I'd probably flash my lights at him too so he saw me coming.

If he then stepped out in front of me and I hit him... then yeah, he 'jumped out in front of me'.

The video probably shows this, and the video, 911 call, and anything else we haven't seen were all used to come to the verdict/plea/sentence.

 

[salsadancer7]

I don't know, sounds like splitting hairs. If I saw a guy on the median crossing where he wasnt supposed to and I was flying along I'd probably flash my lights at him too so he saw me coming.

If he then stepped out in front of me and I hit him... then yeah, he 'jumped out in front of me'.

The video probably shows this, and the video, 911 call, and anything else we haven't seen were all used to come to the verdict/plea/sentence.

Don't you think you SHOULD split hair when it comes to a human life? Or is that just details just not that important to look into?

Also, where does it say the victim was standing on the median?

 

[meStevo]

I wasn't describing the accident... I was explaining how someone could 'jump out in front of me'. We don't know how exactly the accident happened... I don't know, you don't know. We're arguing about seconds of a video/accident that we haven't seen and/or heard detailed step by step, for all we know the guy was doing a cartwheel across the street outside of the crosswalk.

We'll never see the video, but if it was very clearly Stallworth at fault the charges would have been different.

 

[salsadancer7]

I wasn't describing the accident... I was explaining how someone could 'jump out in front of me'. We don't know how exactly the accident happened... I don't know, you don't know. We're arguing about seconds of a video/accident that we haven't seen and/or heard detailed step by step, for all we know the guy was doing a cartwheel across the street outside of the crosswalk.

We'll never see the video, but if it was very clearly Stallworth at fault the charges would have been different.

YOU KNOW full well the ONLY thing that stop this from being seriously bad for Stallworth was the fact that he was not at a crosswalk....period. According to reports, he was about 30 feet away. THAT is the ONLY THING saving Stallworth....those 30 feet. THAT might be what shows on the video....those 30 little feet.

 

[meStevo]

I'm glad you've come around finally, a long way from

I think the jaywalking thing is total BS! So instead of a crosswalk....he crossed somewhere else....he is partially to blame??!!