Well that, and the 18 months he served in prison as payment for his crimes... and the fines... and the restitution... and the loss of his job and income... and the felony conviction he'll always carry on his record...
If Michael Vick was a moderately successful used car salesman, a first offense dog fighting conviction in Virginia would most likely have earned him, at MOST, a one year suspended sentence and a few years probabtion -- and the feds never even would have looked at him.
As it was, he was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison and paid nearly a million dollars in fines and restituation. He also lost a $100 million NFL contract. Because of his fame and notoriety, he actually received GREATER punishment for his crimes than a non-famous person would have received.
No one I know of (apart from Clinton Portis) has given Michael Vick 'absolution' for his acts -- but some of us are satisfied that he has paid an appropriate and just price for his crimes.
“some of us are satisfied that he has paid an appropriate and just price for his crimes.”
The rest of us are not. Some of the killers seem genuinely remorseful when they head up in front of the parole board. Some have spent most of their useful life behind bars. I don’t see giving them a pass either.
The issue is not the dog fighting for me. It was the bizarre tortures and killings just for the fun of it. This guy has some serious issues that seem to show a natural disregard for life. But hey, his handlers and PR people have everyone seeing a new reformed man. Go Birds! Right?
I believe the larger picture and core disturbing fact in this case is the demented mind it takes to commit these horrible acts. How can someone commit such horrific acts repeatedly and monetarily capitalize from such brutality? Can someone with that much hatred inside be rehabilitateded in 18 months? And is Vick remorseful because of what he did or because he got caught? I understand there is a difference between human life and animal life but to systematically kill any life exposes a truly sick mind.