Shameful Stallworth

I read “Crime and Punishment” in March, 2005. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic, but tough, novel still sits on my bookshelf. I recommend the riveting read recounting Raskolnikov’s wrongdoings. There is a correlation here, so keep reading. Cleveland Brown’s wide receiver, Donte Stallworth, drove a 2005 Bentley in March 2008. He was sentenced to under a month in the cell for hitting and killing a man with his automobile. Stallworth began serving a 30-day jail sentence Tuesday.
This is a classic case of the punishment not fitting the crime. Let me get this straight. A professional football player earns a $ 4.5 million roster bonus and goes out to celebrate at a hotel in Miami Beach. He drinks so much at the bar his blood-alcohol level surpasses the Florida limit of .08. Stallworth crashes into a pedestrian construction worker, Mario Reyes, on an early mid-March morning. Reyes, the 59 year old, was rushing to catch a 7:15 bus home from work after his construction shift. How does this equate to only one month in prison? It wasn’t even dark out when the 28 year old Browns receiver was driving while intoxicated.
The news reported the family of Reyes wished to put the matter behind them. The victim’s family reached a financial settlement with Stallworth, who was facing 15 years behind bars for a DUI manslaughter conviction. Dennis Murphy, the Miami-Dade judge, seems to believe Stallworth acted like a man by pleading guilty and remaining at the scene of the crime. The judge lowered the bar to one month and we, as fans and citizens, are supposed to applaud Stallworth for admitting he was wrong? I could care less if he didn’t flee the scene. That was the least the Browns receiver could have done after taking someone’s father away by his own carelessness. Donte fully accepted responsibility and must now serve 1,000 hours of community service, undergo drug and alcohol testing and surrender his driver’s license for driving 10 miles over the speed limit and drunk in his Bentley. The former University of Tennessee star will be allowed to resume his football career but could face suspension without pay for a few games.
I am absolutely appalled by the ruling in this case. By no means am I an expert in law, but how does this sentence exactly do justice to the criminal act? Murphy doled out a punishment as lenient as I’ve ever heard. So what if the athlete lacked a previous criminal record and was willing to cooperate in a plea deal? The family wanted closure, but wouldn’t it be more realistic to have Stallworth serve at least a year for taking their loved one’s life? Compared to other jail sentences handed out to big-time athletes, this one pales. Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the leg and he’ll probably see more time in the slammer. Both were accidents but Stallworth’s resulted in someone losing their life. It is a moot point whether the pedestrian was illegally crossing the street. Stallworth should not have been behind the wheel in the condition he was in. What’s the point of enacting laws if they are not going to be enforced and used as justice? It’s such a shame Stallworth will wear an orange Browns jersey more than an orange jumpsuit. The crime committed should have been enough to eradicate Stallworth’s football playing career. I at least hope the family left behind will be able to put Stallworth’s money to good use.

Parting points: “Whoever has a conscience will no doubt suffer, if he realizes his mistake. That’s his punishment-on top of penal servitude.”- Crime and Punishment