04/18/24
March 12, 2010
Guilty: A Denver jury has 26 year-old Willie Clark guilty of 21 charges, including two for first-degree murder in the New Year's Day 2007 shooting death of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams (prev. on SpoFi). Clark's sentencing is scheduled for April 30, when Judge Christina Habas is expected to give him life in prison.
posted by Ufez Jones to football at 11:10 AM - 3 comments
I imagine it all depends on the circumstances of the crime or the trial, or your choice of example.
posted by Hugh Janus at 01:34 PM on March 12, 2010
but when an athlete kills ie Jason Williams or OJ Simpson etc it doesn't usually work the same way.
I get where you're coming from, atheist, but oddly, the two you cite are sitting in prison at the moment. OJ got 9 years for the Vegas crap. Williams got sentenced to 5 years for "aggravated assault", which, yes, is a bullshit plea-bargain and he got arrested at least twice again before sentencing, which I'm sure had an impact, but at least he hasn't gotten away scot-free.
I have a lot of issues with the US Justice system, and yeah, having enough money to hire a defense attorney is a huge benefit that most defendants don't get. But murderous assholes do seem to get at least some comeuppance. Every time? Of course not. But I'm not about to rue Clark's (presumptive) life sentence in this instance.
posted by Ufez Jones at 03:38 PM on March 12, 2010
Nice to see someone is being held accountable. Of course life in prison or death would be a just punishment for committing murder, I can't help but notice when a criminal kills an athlete the punishment fits the crime, but when an athlete kills ie Jason Williams or OJ Simpson etc it doesn't usually work the same way.