Is it just me? Or is 2 years for shooting yourself a bit much?

[CCTAU]

Burress shoots himself in the leg and gets a 2 year prison sentence?

Gang-bangers all over the city of NY laughing their ass off today.

x-NFL Player Plaxico Burress Agrees to Two Years in Weapons Case

Thursday, August 20, 2009

NEW YORK —  Former New York Giant Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty Thursday to a weapons charge and agreed to a two-year prison term for accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nightclub.

The ex-wide receiver pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a lesser charge than he initially faced. Under a plea agreement, he agreed to a two-year prison sentence and two years of supervised release.

Burress was indicted earlier this month on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. He faced a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years if convicted at a trial.

The guilty plea ends months of haggling between Burress' attorney and the Manhattan district attorney's office. The case went to a grand jury earlier this month after negotiations broke down, apparently because District Attorney Robert Morgenthau was insisting that Burress serve at least two years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer said it is standard policy to request a two-year sentence as part of a plea bargain on such serious charges. Sentencing was set for Sept. 22.

In a Manhattan state Supreme Court room on Thursday, the soft-spoken Burress, wearing a dark blue suit, first entered a not-guilty plea to the initial charges against him. After attorneys on both sides conferred, Burress said, "Guilty" to the new attempted weapons possession charge.

His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said in court that the 31-year-old Burress was thinking of his family in taking the plea, although he questioned the recommended prison sentence.

"This was not an intentional criminal act," Brafman said. "In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment."

With time off for good behavior, the sentence could be reduced to 20 months.

The football star and former teammate Antonio Pierce were at the Latin Quarter nightclub in late November when a gun tucked into Burress' waistband slipped down his leg and fired, shooting him in the right thigh. The bullet narrowly missed a nightclub security guard who was standing inches away, prosecutors said, lodged in the floor and was recovered by a bartender.
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    The gun was not licensed in New York or in New Jersey, where Burress lived, prosecutors said. His license to carry a concealed weapon in the state of Florida had expired in May 2008.

Prosecutors said Pierce drove Burress to a hospital, then took the gun to his own home in New Jersey where it was later delivered to Burress' home.

Pierce was not indicted. The grand jury also did not indict the nightclub security guard who carried the gun to Pierce's car or the hospital staff members who failed to notify police that Burress had been shot.

Burress, who caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the New England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl, also could face disciplinary action by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The Giants released Burress in April and he has yet to sign with another team.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,541023,00.html

[Saniflush]

Yea.  Two years for popping a cap in ones own ass seems a bit stiff.

[Tiger Wench]

He was in violation of gun laws (no guns in bars, unlicensed and unregistered weapon, etc.) AND the bullet narrowly missed a security guard who was standing nearby... it technically could have been involuntary manslaughter if the guy had been hit and killed.

Bigger question is why would Burress need a gun in the first place????  He had a massive entourage and security everywhere.

No second amendment flames - you know how I stand on that issue.  But if I am not licensed to carry, and there is a law about carrying in a bar, I am not going to carry - you still have to follow the law.

But okay, yeah, 2 yrs is a bit much.  Call it the Michael Vick effect...

[Saniflush]

He was in violation of gun laws (no guns in bars, unlicensed and unregistered weapon, etc.) AND the bullet narrowly missed a security guard who was standing nearby... it technically could have been involuntary manslaughter if the guy had been hit and killed.

Bigger question is why would Burress need a gun in the first place????  He had a massive entourage and security everywhere.

No second amendment flames - you know how I stand on that issue.  But if I am not licensed to carry, and there is a law about carrying in a bar, I am not going to carry - you still have to follow the law.

But okay, yeah, 2 yrs is a bit much.  Call it the Michael Vick effect...

Nah I am completely with you Wench.  Actually find it more comical than anything.

[Kaos]

Diddy is also laughing. 

As is Ray Lewis. 

[CCTAU]

Diddy is also laughing. 

As is Ray Lewis. 

That was more my point.

[AWK]

Dante Stallworthe is laughing as well. 

[AUChizad]

Dante Stallworthe is laughing as well. 

That's what makes this situation 10x fuckededer.

[Townhallsavoy]

That's what makes this situation 10x fuckededer.

To be fair - Stallworth hit a guy who was hopping 3 foot barriers into traffic.  That guy was asking for it.  If Stallworth hadn't been drunk, we'd be cracking jokes about the idiot who was hit. 

Burress didn't need to have a gun on him.  I have no clue why he got hit with such a stiff punishment.  Maybe he was on double secret probation. 

[boartitz]

Diddy is also laughing. 

As is Ray Lewis. 

Tupac ain't seen the humor of it.