The evidence is as clear as day. Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice caught on tape dragging his now wife out of a hotel elevator after allegedly assaulting her. A crime that would net any of us ordinary citizens time behind bars.Â
According to a report by the Press of Atlantic City, Rice was accepted into a pretrial intervention program that should enable him to avoid criminal charges.
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice will be allowed to enter a program to avoid prosecution in an alleged assault of his now-wife.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office approved Rice’s acceptance into pretrial intervention Monday. Superior Court Judge Michael Donio then signed off on it Tuesday.
Rice was charged with third-degree aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury back in March. According to the Press of Atlantic City report, the main evidence against rice was footage from inside the elevator, which has not yet been made public.
The idea that a man of stature such as Rice could get off without any criminal charges being filed against him is absolutely ridiculous. The grand jury decided to indict based on evidence that it had in front of itself prior to making the indictment. The prosecutors can talk about this being a decision based on the law all they want, but Rice’s stature surely played a role in the ultimate decision to accept him into the intervention program, which will likely require anger management classes and community service.
Based on New Jersey state law, the following is the sentencing guidelines for third-degree aggravated assault (via Criminaldefenselawyer.com).
Conviction of a third degree crime carries a potential prison sentence of at least three years up to five years, and a fine that could be up to $15,000.
So no jail time and an intervention program seems to make sense, right?
If the NFL really wants to get serious about protecting the shield, as commissoner Roger Goodell has indicated multiple times, it is going to need the help of officials outside of the league, especially in situations like this. Rice getting off with what appears to be not much more than a slap on the wrist isn’t sending the right message to players around the league. It is, in fact, indicating that they are literally above the law. It is also indicating that domestic violence isn’t as serious of an issue as it really is in mainstream American society.
The good news here is that the NFL has the right to penalize Rice how it sees fit under the collective bargaining agreement. Let’s now see what it decides to do in this one specific situation. After all, smoking some marijuana simply cannot be considered a more serious offense than allegedly committing third-degree aggravated assault, can it?
Photo: Andrew Weber, USA Today