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Now that Giants star wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been suspended and put on the reserve/non-football injury list (details), which ends his season, he's got to deal with the fall out of being charged with two felony counts of illegal weapons possession after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh (his gun slipped down his sweatpants) at LQ nightclub in Manhattan on Friday. Here's a summary of new details:
- According to the Daily News, Burress will "lose the remainder of his $3.5 million salary - $823,529" and the Giants could "withhold the $1million payment of his $4.25 million signing bonus." Besides a potential fine of one week's pay (over $200K) , the Giants could trade him or cut him "If he is cut before June 1 he would count for only $4.4 million in 'dead money' against the 2009 salary cap."
- Defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb tells the NY Times that since the 3.5 year minimum for illegal gun possession was established, if Burress "plead[s] down [to] one count," he "would still face a minimum of two years in prison." (Mayor Bloomberg, who has made gun violence a big part of his mayoral platform, fought to enact the tougher legislation.) But given the high-profile nature of the case, Gottlieb doubts the DA's office will accept a plea.
- The doctor who did not report Burress's gunshot wound to the police, as per the law, has been suspended: "Dr. Josyann Abisaab, 44, does not work directly for New York-Cornell Hospital but is affiliated with the facility."
- The NYPD impounded Antonio Pierce's SUV; Pierce, who was with Burress at the club, apparently drove his teammate to the hospital. His lawyer said, "Mr. Pierce, given the extraordinary circumstances of the evening, acted responsibly in trying to save what could have been the life of a friend."
- The State Liquor Authority might yank LQ's liquor license.
- And Stephen Colbert took up the plight of Plaxico last night
And Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, "When you lose a player of Plaxico’s ability, it is incumbent that everybody step up and fill the void. In the last two seasons, this team has done an outstanding job of that. We made it clear to Plax today that we are here to support him in any way possible."
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One wonders what transpired in that emergency room:
was the ER doctor part of a conspiracy of silence afforded a "celebrity" or was she intimidated by Burress' handlers into not reporting? In any case, she has become a scapegoat for the hospital, which should have had a protocol in place for handling such situations.
SWEATPANTS?!?
There couldn't be better publicity for the 3.5 year mandatory minimum. There's no doubt that an automatic sentence like that will make the most hardened thug think twice about casually carrying around a loaded handgun.
@solidago:
Do you really think most thugs who carry illegal weapons think they're gonna get caught? Do you really think the automatic sentencing will discourage them from carrying? The Plaxico incident will be seen as a joke by most: what kind of fool carries a loaded weapon and then shoots himself with it?
another draconian law sends another black man to prison.
This mandatory 3.5 is a stupid law. Stupid. Not as severe but just as stupid as the Rockerfeller drug laws. People are way too hung up on guns.
Plax is a moron, but I'd rather see him spend 3 years as a school crossing guard or having to do some other type of community service, rather than sitting in jail for 3 years. But, he probably won't go to jail anyway.
so thugs will be carrying knives now, no biggie.
if that. will there be a three and a half mandatory on that too? don't tempt him.
if plax and vick where to end up in the same prison, that would make one badass prison football team. A mobile QB with the option of the deep threat with a WR who can win most jump balls.
Talking about the deep threat; thats one facet of prison which plax might not enjoy...