Michael Vick sentenced to 23 months in federal court
Looks like we can finally close the book on this case. At least in federal court.
Yesterday, Michael Vick was sentenced to serve 23 months for his role in the dogfighting operation known as Bad Newz Kennels. ESPN and virtually every other news outlet in the U.S. covered the sentencing.
Vick and his lawyers were probably a little surprised by the length of the sentence because the judge did not go along with the original plea agreement Vick had with the government. That agreement called for a sentencing guideline range of 12 to 18 months. The judge found that Vick had not "accepted responsibility" for his conduct so he did not give Vick the 2-level reduction that would have applied. That put Vick's guideline range at 18 to 24 months, and the judge went with the higher end of that range. The minute sheet explaining the sentence was filed with the court later that day.
There is no parole in the federal system, but 23 months doesn't usually mean 23 months in custody. If Vick does his time without any problems, he should receive "good time credit" and get a 15% reduction in his sentence. That would get Vick home sometime in May 2009.
The judge said that he denied Vick credit for acceptance of responsibility because Vick made false statements about his drug use while on bond, and he minimized his role in executing some of his dogs. A judge has a lot of discretion under the sentencing guidelines in awarding credit for acceptance of responsibility. Most federal judges would have taken away acceptance of responsibility credit when Vick failed his drug test. All of the other things Vick did - apologies, early surrender, etc. did not seem to make a difference with this judge.
Of course, there's still the state indictment. I expect Vick's lawyers are now trying to resolve that case with a plea to concurrent time so that Vick will not be facing time in state custody once he is finished with his federal sentence. That may be the best his lawyers can do for him given the circumstances of this case.
