Former NJ Net Williams pleads guilty to shooting death of limousine driver..

salsadancer7

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Jun 1, 2004
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...to a lesser charge of aggrevated assult. Wow! Amazing how good a job these athletes lawyers do. Stallworth and now Williams.....he is ONLY gonna do 18 months.....for shooting somebody!

Amamzing!

Williams to serve at least 18 months

ESPN.com news services

Former NBA star Jayson Williams will serve at least 18 months in prison following his guilty plea in the 2002 shooting death of a limousine driver, a judge ruled Tuesday.

On Jan. 11, Williams took responsibility for accidentally shooting Costas Christofi to death eight years ago by pleading guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault and agreeing to serve at least 18 months of a five-year prison sentence.

He was awaiting retrial on a charge of reckless manslaughter, a count that would have carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence had he been convicted.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman sentenced Williams Tuesday to a total of five years on the cover-up counts, which will run concurrent to the assault sentence. He will be eligible for parole after 18 months.

In court, a tearful Williams apologized to the Christofi family and to his own family and friends.

"I sincerely apologize for my actions that caused [Christofi's] death," Williams said. "I'm embarrassed and deeply sorry for my choices and actions.

"To my family, please forgive me for the pain I've caused my children. You deserve a better father, son, brother than I have been," he said.

Williams was acquitted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter and convicted of trying to cover up the shooting. The jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count, and a retrial on that charge was due to start last month.

Witnesses testified during the trial that Williams was showing off a shotgun when he snapped the weapon shut and it fired, hitting Christofi. They also testified that Williams initially put the gun in the dead man's hands and told witnesses to lie about what happened.

During his plea last month, Williams said he had been giving about 10 friends a tour of his New Jersey home on Feb. 14, 2002, and when they reached the bedroom, he started showing them his gun collection. While showing off a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun, Williams admitted in his plea that he failed to check the safety mechanism and inspected only one of the two barrels before snapping it shut.

The defense maintained the shooting was an accident and that Williams panicked afterward.

Years of legal sparring followed the trial.

Defense attorneys tried to get the case tossed out, citing a racial slur uttered by a white investigator during a meeting with other law enforcement officials. A judge, however, ruled against Williams, who is black, on appeal.

In November, it appeared a plea deal had been reached, but was indefinitely postponed at the last minute. His lawyers asked to be removed from his defense, citing client communication issues.

Williams paid the Christofi family more than $2 million in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4938372"]Jayson Williams sentenced to 5 years on plea deal in shooting death of limo driver - ESPN[/ame]
 
..there has been a back and forth through the legal system. I feel terrible for the family of the man that was shot. For Williams to get off so easy.....just does not seem fair.
 
Once again I'll say what a travesty it is that Plaxico Burris is doing more time behind bars for shooting HIMSELF! Yet Jayson Williams killed a man and gets a slap on the wrist and Donte Stallworth is out and just got a new contract.
 
Laws are different in different states, all there is to it. People do their time and then move on, or should there have been a part of Stallworth's sentence that he should never have a job again?
 
What about O.J.? The Juice got off scott-free from cold blooded murder. In the other examples in this thread, they can at least be viewed as an "accident".
 
Related... Vincent Jackson is going to do a mandatory few days in jail and get 5 years probation as a repeat offender after his 2009 DUI.

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4938646"]Vincent Jackson of San Diego Chargers pleads guilty to DUI - ESPN[/ame]

I agree with PFT that the NFL needs to come down hard on that stuff. If you are arrested for DUI of any severity, you should lose a year of football. It shouldn't only be because there were unfortunate consequences, but because of what could have happened.
 
Laws are different in different states, all there is to it. People do their time and then move on, or should there have been a part of Stallworth's sentence that he should never have a job again?
He shouldn't have a job in the NFL that's for sure. Playing professional sports is a privilege not a right. Stallworth can have a job snaking toilets and cleaning septic tanks.
 
That's your opinion, but according to the state of Florida he's done his time and is free and clear, the same with the NFL.

If he went up onto the sidewalk and took out that pedestrian, I'd probably agree with you. Either way, I understand the outrage.
 
I truly believe in 2nd chances...but by the same token, I also believe the punishment should fit the crime. I think there Williams shooting MIGHT have been an accident because I was not not. But it just does not seem right that for the driver and his family. The Stalworth issue....he TOO deserves a 2nd chance...he served his 30....ooops...27 days. :rant:

Think about that for 1 second. ONE guy shot another for accidently shooting someone...gets minimum 18 months.....another got drunk AND high...and drove his car over someone....an got 27 days...:confused:

...wow, just saying it almost gets me sick to my stomach.:(
 
The lifetime suspension of his drivers license, 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation Stallworth also got is not insignificant. His career was potentially ended as well, if he doesn't return to form he'll never see a multi-million dollar contract. He's gone from a $35mil 7 year deal w/ 10 mil guaranteed minus a year of pay to a $900k deal that could be $0 if he doesn't make the team.

There are also way too many differences in the crimes you're comparing to even begin to compare the sentences.
 
The lifetime suspension of his drivers license, 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation Stallworth also got is not insignificant. His career was potentially ended as well, if he doesn't return to form he'll never see a multi-million dollar contract. He's gone from a $35mil 7 year deal w/ 10 mil guaranteed minus a year of pay to a $900k deal that could be $0 if he doesn't make the team.

There are also way too many differences in the crimes you're comparing to even begin to compare the sentences.

Well....if HE was a poor bastard like me...ALL the other things that come with his 27 days....I would agree.. BUT, he made MORE money than MOST on his site BEFORE the incident. So, to me....doe not make it better. He will be making $900k this season, considering he KILLED someone....that's pretty good. AND, his skills have not deteriorated THAT much for him to suddenly NOT have the skills to be a WR in the rotation.

...back to Williams. HE is another one. He made TONS of money BEFORE this happened. AND from what I have read in his pasted, he has invested well...so when Williams comes out of jail...he will MORE than likely still be well off.
 
The lifetime suspension of his drivers license, 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation Stallworth also got is not insignificant. His career was potentially ended as well, if he doesn't return to form he'll never see a multi-million dollar contract. He's gone from a $35mil 7 year deal w/ 10 mil guaranteed minus a year of pay to a $900k deal that could be $0 if he doesn't make the team.

There are also way too many differences in the crimes you're comparing to even begin to compare the sentences.
You know as well as I do that drivers license or no drivers license that fool WILL drive again. Cars aren't like ATM machines where you have to insert a card to make it work. And probation in this country is a joke. It's a get out of jail free card. And boo hoo. That mother f-er is down to JUST a $900,000 contract. We should all have it so bad. That's like watching some smug CEO who bankrupts his company walk away with millions and they say you should have seen how much I lost. Give me a break.
 
Except he still has to make the team to earn any of that $900k. Yeah, he will drive again. In 5 years he can apply to be able to drive to work and back. That will be 3 years after he gets to stop wearing the bracelet on his ankle. I wonder how that works during the NFL season.

Unless you're saying he's just going to drive anyways, in which case there's no point continuing to reply to you if you're going to just fill in blanks with nonsense and blanket statements to suit any argument you want.
 
The lifetime suspension of his drivers license, 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation Stallworth also got is not insignificant. His career was potentially ended as well, if he doesn't return to form he'll never see a multi-million dollar contract. He's gone from a $35mil 7 year deal w/ 10 mil guaranteed minus a year of pay to a $900k deal that could be $0 if he doesn't make the team.

There are also way too many differences in the crimes you're comparing to even begin to compare the sentences.

BOO-frickin'-HOO.

Now he'll have to hire a DRIVER. How much will THAT set him back, too?

I guess that makes up for that dead guy....he was nobody anyway, right?

2 crimes, 2 dead men, 2 families without fathers, sons, husbands, brothers. What differences to those 2 families?

2 murderers/killers back on the street without 2 years in jail between them. Care to defend that? You can't. Don't even try.

(oh yeah, and one of those guys is gonna make a million dollars, in front of you, on your TV screen, with a bunch people, including kids, rooting for him)
 
Except he still has to make the team to earn any of that $900k....

Well, if he doesn't make the team, does that mean he makes zero for the rest of the year and the rest of his life, or does it mean he then tries to hitch up with another team that might pay him the same amount of money, or even more if the value of this $900,000 contract was held in check by the bad publicity it presently have brought to the team that signed him?