I can understand why a lot of people were upset that former Eagles and now Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth received such a light sentence for hitting and killing a Florida man with his vehicle while legally intoxicated.
Plea deals have more to do with the strength of the prosecutor's case than anything else. The fact that the victim was hit while breaking the law by crossing the street outside of the cross walk, greatly damaged the prosecutor's case.
After talking to a number of lawyers, I am sure that this was a major factor in the ruling. Now there's another bit of evidence that points that way even more.
Yesterday the judge in the case refused to release a video of the victim, Mario Reyes illegally running 
across the street in the middle of the block and being struck by Stallworth's automobile.
They have video of the accident.
There was a question for a long time as to whether this video existed. People who thought he should have been given more time, reasoned that a video of the accident would give the prosecutor a better the case.
The truth is that the video probably weakened the case.
I am sure that if this video had shown that Stallworth was clearly at fault, he would be headed to a long stretch in jail and he would deserve it.
Remember the prosecutor was going to have to prove that Stallworth's intoxication was the major reason for the accident and not Reyes' behavior.
A lawyer told me that the fact that the police officers didn't arrest Stallworth that morning also weakened the case because it meant he wasn't visibly drunk.
The fact that the prosecutor gave him such a light sentence suggests that the video showed that Reyes had a major hand in his own death.
Understand that I'm not minimizing Stallworth's reckless behavior but I'm merely talking about how the law was involved.
I think NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is doing the right thing by suspending the receiver. The commish is dealing solely with Stallworth's behavior which was reprehensible.
I hear that he might miss the season due to the suspension.
