Taylor should take deal

[paulskinsfan]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

So you're telling me Martha Stewart can't vote....wasn't she convicted of a felony?

There are about 15 states that don't allow convicted felons to vote, the rest will. And some may even restore voting rights 2 years after being released from prison. Like I said, it still boils down to the state and so forth.

Still with his on-the-field issues and him being a threat with a gun, I'm not sure we can draw a parallel there.

Yeah, you are right on the right to vote, didn't know that one, interesting. I wonder if gun ownership is the same.

[backrow]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

We do keep in touch, through letters and he phones me every now and then. I have to do a better job of writing him though. He's a big sports fan so he likes that I send him a bunch of sports related stuff. He's only into year three of his sentence.

Sadly, he's a Dolphins fan and doesn't care for the Redskins. But still he's my friend.

I think it's great that you guys write & talk!

Hopefully he can become parole eligible earlier.

I hope he sees the light while in prison, and converts to becoming a Redskin fan! I hear prison sometimes changes you completely, religiously, and otherwise!

Toughest part is getting back into work & society once the sentence is completed.

I once had a co-worker who went Postal, and killed another employee. He (the killer) and I were not friends, however. I moved onto another job, and another, and another and another, over my career. Lost contact. Never heard anything else. But it's good to stay connected with a true friend if you can.

[jayfrank12]

hey this is court.anything can and will happen.if your guilty or not it has nothing to do with it.stay out of jail is your goal.take the deal forget right and wrong.if not you could be sorry 10 years from now 2016.

[FRPLG]

You don't plead guilty to something you didn't do. At best the charges against him are dubious. I wouldn't plead guilty to anything if I wasn't guilty of it. It is the prosecution's fault for "over charging" the case. Charge the case properly then maybe he'd take a plea to something he did do.

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

A friend of mine once faced a similar predicament. Accept a plea and get like 6 months in jail plus one year probation or something like that. There were so many mistakes by the prosecution that he was convinced by his lawyer not to accept the plea that he would be fine.

He was wrong. He's serving 8 years now with 7 years probation. Of course, the difference is you can dispute a lot of the things that my friend did. Sean Taylor-I know nothing about what really happened.

I mean no offense or disrespect, but I think Sean Taylor's lawyers probably know the system better than your friends. I read somewhere that he has 3 of the top ten lawyers in Florida... so my guess is they know what their doing and he'll get charges dismissed or a not-guilty verdict. If you take a felony, you miss 4 games, and have a felony on your record.

Bottom line: If 3 of the top ten lawyers in the state are telling you to reject the plea because there is not enough evidence, for example... you trust them.

[paulskinsfan]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

I mean no offense or disrespect, but I think Sean Taylor's lawyers probably know the system better than your friends. I read somewhere that he has 3 of the top ten lawyers in Florida... so my guess is they know what their doing and he'll get charges dismissed or a not-guilty verdict. If you take a felony, you miss 4 games, and have a felony on your record.

Bottom line: If 3 of the top ten lawyers in the state are telling you to reject the plea because there is not enough evidence, for example... you trust them.

Are you telling me that if you were in the same position, and your lawyers were offered a deal that kept you out of jail, you would roll the dice with the rest of your life? I had a client do that once, rolled the dice when we advised him to take a deal, he got a life sentence.

[Daseal]

Want a reason not to take the deal?

Sponsors. Goodluck getting sponsored with a felony. If you've been charged and gotten off, then you're fine.

I say 99.9% Sean walks from this.

I was in a situation where the state offered me a deal. I looked the DA in the eyes and said "Is this a joke?" and walked out. I got off on half the charges and got 1/4 of the penelty in the "deal" the DA offered me.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Sociofan

I think the thing that stuns me most about your response is how cavalier it is. Setting aside his temper on the field (spitting is nowhere near a felony), Taylor strikes me as somewhat of a stand up guy with a lot of pride. His dad is a police officer and Taylor studied Criminology in college. He has a lot more at stake than just a "mark on the record." He has to live with himself.

Having a felony criminal record is pretty significant. While Taylor may "have his millions", he might want to do something with his life after football. He might even want to be a police detective and follow his dad or he might want to start a business. I doubt he'll just sit around and get fat. But in the 'real world', that felony record becomes significant. Police officer with a felony gun charge? Not likely. Business line of credit with a felony gun charge? Nothing reputable will work there either.

If Taylor's legal team believes they can beat this charge, they should make that effort. I do not condone Sean's response of personally going after the guys who stole his ATV, but the truth is, I might have done the same. Both of us should likely have called the police in that situation.

If you really believe that having a felony on your record is no big deal, just talk to all the guys who grew up and realized that it is a serious deal.

I completely agree.. To suggest he should take a plea to a felony just so he can play for your favorite team is beyond selfish..

What happens if he takes a plea and suffers a career ending injury?? He'd be a 23 year old convicted felon who can't get a job in a whole bunch of industries because of that, can't vote in a presidential election, can't get lines of credit, etc. Not worth it!

[Gmanc711]

If they are declining this offer that includes no jail time...it looks like they are pretty confident in their case.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by paulskinsfan

Are you telling me that if you were in the same position, and your lawyers were offered a deal that kept you out of jail, you would roll the dice with the rest of your life? I had a client do that once, rolled the dice when we advised him to take a deal, he got a life sentence.

Except this case is a little different. ST didnt kill anyone one, he "might" have pulled a gun on other criminals. Hmm...interesting. I understand where you are going with this, but its not nearly that big of a case, and he should get off. If you look at some other cases in FL, we all know they have strict gun laws, but many have gotten off, and those are regular joes. ST will be fine, and taking a felony is the worst thing one can do. You lose certain freedoms others have, the three strike rule, it always sticks on your record, for jobs, etc. and if ST is innocent or the state doesnt have enough evidence, then why take a felony? He also has to sit out 4 games i think.

[Master4Caster]

He should follow his attorny's advice.

[paulskinsfan]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I completely agree.. To suggest he should take a plea to a felony just so he can play for your favorite team is beyond selfish..

What happens if he takes a plea and suffers a career ending injury?? He'd be a 23 year old convicted felon who can't get a job in a whole bunch of industries because of that, can't vote in a presidential election, can't get lines of credit, etc. Not worth it!

Yo Paintrain, I never said he should take the plea just so he could play for my favorite team, I said that if he has a proposed deal which would get him out of this mess with no jail time then he should take it rather than roll the dice with a jury. If he gets a "career ending injury" well then he has his signing bonus and insurance money. If you think its "not worth it" think again! PLENTY of innocent people are sitting in jail for crimes they did not commit. If you have your freedom, you have life, its just now worth a roll of the dice if you have a plea in place to avoid jail time. Id tell that to any criminal defendant, not just Sean Taylor!

[Sociofan]

If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit.

[WinSkins1960]

If the deal he was offered made sense, I believe he would have already signed on the dotted line. With limited information we have, it appears the prosecutor has over-reached and is now trying to find a face-saving way out...hence the "Passover Postponement" to get a little more time to play let's make a deal. Would be surprised if this goes to trial but if it does advantage seems to go to defendant ST since accusers are repeat offenders and defense only needs to convince one juror.

[SmootSmack]

Whatever happens with Taylor, we NEED to sign this free safety