by Jonathan Sadler

Created on: August 16, 2009   Last Updated: August 17, 2009

This great country of ours is built on second chaces and the rule of law. Certian foundations are in place and have provided the backbone of our society. When someone commits a crime against another person, or against society itself, that person is tried by a judge or a jury of their peers. That person is deemed innocent until proven guilty. Our Constitution provides us protection from being twice punished for the same crime in the Eighth Amendment.

Michael Vick was in fact convicted of a Federal crime by way of filing a plea agreement and agreeing to plead guilty to the lead count of an Indictment. By way of the plea agreement, Vick admitted that allegations contained in the indictment were true. Inasmuch he was punished via a sentence of twenty two months in Federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. Vick served the time in prison, a notorious prision well known about the Country. He further served time in a halfway house, designed to help prisoners reintegrate into society.

Outside of the punishment that lesser known defendats have served for the same or similar crimes, Vick paid dearly for his mistakes. The Atlanta Falcons had long considered Vick the face of its franchise. The Falcons made Vick the highest paid player in team history and promoted his likeness, his jersey number, and his persona. Vick bankrolled that into various other income sources through deals with shoe makers, clothing lines, and the like. He ventured into other businesses including a restauraunt. In the end, his inability to break away from the low-lives who surrounded him growing up in a delapidated part of the country is what brought him down. Vick didn't have the ability to leave behind those who were leeching off of him for his fame and fourtune. This isn't an excuse, merely an explanation.

Vick paid the price. He spent 22 months in prison, endured ridicule and protests, lost tens of millions of dollars in pay and endorsement. The Falcons ostricised Vick and other NFL teams were slow to show interest in him. What he did was wrong. However, he has paid for his crime. Just as we should with others, we need to let him have a second chance. In fact we need to pull for him and hope that the young man really learned from his mistakes and can have a positive impact on others.

Others have committed far more serious crimes, have served their sentenced and have returned to be successful members of society. The Philadelphia Eagles decided to step up and be a path the rebound for this young man. Here is one person pulling for him to succeed.

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