According to the New York Times (which is always 100% correct in every instance), a plea deal for Plaxico Burress would indeed involve some jail time.
As you may or may not have heard, Burress shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in 2008 when the gun accidentally got loose in his sweatpants and went off. No, I'm serious. Trust me, you can Google it. All true.
Supposedly, according to…you know, the law, carrying a concealed weapon sans a permit in NYC comes with a mandatory 3.5-year jail sentence. But since Plaxico is famous, I guess we can bend the meaning of "mandatory." It's probably a good idea considering famous people are great.
So anyway, now there is talk of a possible plea deal between Plaxico and the people of N.Y. I'm not sure why prosecutors would need a plea deal since the evidence is so overwhelming. He had a gun. It was concealed. He didn't have a permit. Pretty simple, right?
Actually that isn't the case and it looks like the plea deal has nothing to do with Plax's celebrity. According to the NY Times, there were 986 cases in NY last year involving the same charges as Burress. 90% resulted in convictions of less serious crimes, half of them misdemeanors or violations.
The reduced crimes were things like third-degree gun possession or attempted possession (whatever that means), which carry sentences of up to two years.
I find it tough to believe that Plax will get this busted down to a misdemeanor, but who knows? Based on what I read in the NY Times (I sound like Sarah Palin), it sounds like he's going to have to spend at least some time behind bars, although the report didn't have a clue how long.
And just because he goes to jail and gets out, don't forget that Goodell hasn't gotten his mitts on him yet.
