Mike Vick might just be so stupid he's brilliant. It seems that by getting caught smoking pot, Vick may have actually reduced his future jail time.The obvious question here is - what the hell are you talking about?
The guy who runs Derrich.com heard a guy on a San Antonio radio show say that there is an obscure federal legal loophole that Vick might be able to take advantage of by having tested positive for marijuana.
Here is how Vick can reduce his jail time according to Derrich:
By taking advantage of an obscure Federal Bureau of Prisons (B.O.P.) Rotational/Developmental Assignment Program (R.D.A.P.) loophole — 18 U.S.C. 3621 — Vick could possibly reduce his sentence by one year. This documented instance of substance abuse apparently qualifies Vick for this reduction upon completion of a treatment program.
And here's what the statute says:
Period of custody — The period a prisoner convicted of a nonviolent offense remains in custody after successfully completing a treatment program may be reduced by the Bureau of Prisons, but such reduction may not be more than one year from the term the prisoner must otherwise serve.
According to the owner of American Prison Consultants - which is a somewhat seedy looking site, but specializes in reducing the jail time of white collar criminals - this is not BS. Here's what he said:
"If you can show you had a substance abuse issue 1 year prior to entering custody you can get UP TO A YEAR knocked off your federal sentence."
A couple of lawyers we know also vouched for this potential outcome. And strangely, killing dogs is not considered a violent offense. The APC guy also said that 6 months of prison time can be served in a half-way house - which is much, much better than being in prison.
Vick could qualify for this loophole because he failed his recent drug test. Of course now the question is did Vick actually smoke pot on purpose? I'd like to think Ron Mexico spent many a night buried in the Harvard Law library looking for this loophole, but I doubt it. Maybe he just has the greatest legal team in history, but that seems unlikely as well.
If the judge is lenient (which might be less likely now considering the positive marijuana test) and Vick is sentenced to a year and a half in jail, he might never actually set foot in prison and only spend 6 months in a half-way house.
All I know is if I ever have to plead guilty to a federal crime, I'm going to puff a huge doobie in the court room as I plead out.
Of course, Vick still has to worry about state charges, but hey, he's one step closer to his triumphant return to the NFL.
Photo courtesy of KSK and The Onion.
-WCK
