Donte Stallworth Eludes Justice

I'm going to have to root for more of this

On March 14th, Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth drove through the streets of Miami with a blood-alcohol level of .126.  Eventually, his vehicle came to a stop after he struck and killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes.  Stallworth’s football career appeared to be over as he was facing a prison sentence of 4-to-15 years, so he pleaded not guilty.  Despite the fact that he stopped and admitted to officers that he indeed hit Reyes with his Bentley.  Well, he’s apparently figured out that pleading not guilty to a crime you’ve already admitted to generally doesn’t get you off the hook.  He’s also figured out that well-known rich athletes and celebrities don’t spend much time in prison.  Long story short, he’s worked out a plea deal that will result in 30 days behind bars.  In case you’re wondering, his victim is still serving his eternal sentence of death.  But good news for Stallworth’s football career. 

To me, this case isn’t incredibly different from the Nick Adenhart case.  You have a drunk driver that struck and killed other people and later plead not guilty.  The main difference is that the athlete switched sides.  Would the Adenhart case be any different if he had been on the other side of the accident?  Seriously, think about it, we’re learning about ourselves today. 

To be fair, Stallworth was much more cooperative than the defendant in the Adenhart case, but in the end, you still have families who are dealing with the loss of a member and a person responsible trying to wriggle out of jail-time.  For Stallworth, he’s succeeded by getting handed a one-month sentence along with ten years of probation, one-thousand hours of community service and the lifetime loss of his driving privileges.  That sounds more like the harshest punishment handed down to a teenager for missing curfew.  Stallworth must also serve two years of his probation under house-arrest.  I’m sure he and his legal team will figure out a way to schedule that so it doesn’t interrupt his football career.  Besides, house-arrest doesn’t seem too strict.  Michael Vick is supposedly under house-arrest and he’s out and about all the time.  Unless his house is the state of Virginia, he’s not being restricted too much. 

I don’t mean to bash on Donte Stallworth.  I have no ill-will nor any agenda toward the guy, but I would guess that the Reyes family does.  They desperately wanted this case resolved.  They probably should have been more specific.

UPDATE: WithLeather points out that Stallworth and the Reyes family reached a financial settlement.  Does the fact that they took money from the man who is responsible for the death of a family member mean they can’t be as outraged that he’s only getting a month in prison?  I don’t know, that’s not a question I’m prepared to answer.  Does it mean I can’t be as outraged?  No, no it does not.  That one was easy.

Tags: Cleveland Browns, Donte Stallworth, drunk, football, NFL

3 Comments to Donte Stallworth Eludes Justice

David
June 16, 2009

You didn’t mention that the man that Stallworth struck happened to be jaywalking. That takes away some of the injustice.

gopherbroke
June 16, 2009

Does it? I didn’t realize jaywalking was punishable by death.

Saint Joe
June 17, 2009

You’ve obviously never been to Iran

Leave a comment