Pleading guilty to a crime is a conviction. Look it up. The longer sentence might have something to do with the fact that the fights took place on his property, and that he admitted to being directly invovled with the killing of the dogs after they were no longer able to be used for fighting. So, what’s your point?
Sort of it is and sort of it isn’t. As far as your overall criminal record is concerned yes it’s a conviction, as far as the time you’re going to serve though it’s vastly different. That’s part of what the plea deal is all about, save the government the cost of the trial and save yourself the cost of some time.
My point is your statement is silly. You’re implying Vick got celebrity treatment, but he got the longest sentence of the group. The whole thing went like a pretty standard federal prosecution, he was facing a good 5 to 10 had he gone to trial and lost, he plead out and got 18 months, and we didn’t have to put up with 2 years worth of legal motions and trial. This is how the vast majority of criminal cases, especially federal cases, go.