http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7246845/green-bay-packers-johnny-jolly-sentenced-6-years-prison This may end up in the PoFo, but I have to say that I am both disturbed and depressed by the fact that this guy is getting a six year prison sentence for Codeine, while there are other NFL players who have done far worse (vehicular manslaughter, anyone) yet are still in the league. Maybe I'm too progressive; but we're talking freakin' cough syrup here - we aren't talking about pounds of crack or meth. It just seems like we have our priorities wrong. The dude is an addict, not a criminal. Get him some help. If I'm going to pay for something (and in this case I am, as my tax dollars are funding the prison system) then at least I'd like to know that I'm contributing to his rehabilitation. I guess I should be thankful we got Jolly off the streets. Clearly he was a dangerous criminal and needed to be locked away. Clearly.
Daunte Stallworth, and Pacman Jones read this post and lol'ed. Anyway, I'm glad our system keeps hardcore criminals like this Jolly guy off the streets.
Well, problem was Jolly plead guilty to possessing a a ton of liquid codeine (iirc) or the pills, and wound up on probation, which meant his 6 yr suspended sentence was activated when he did what addicts do..re-use their drug of choice. Far be it from me to give this guy, or anyone deep into dependency a pass, however expecting him to stay clean or face 6 yrs was just not realistic, he should have been in a drug court setting with 2x weekly drug testing and appearances before a judge and weekly probation appointments along with intermediate punishments, like losing time accrued towards ending his probation or a couple of week long sentences instead of full activation. Imo this is a failure in creativity and effectiveness more then anything else.
Ehhh, not an angel here - most importantly not a first, nor 2nd chance guy either, and thus in context - he has earned exactly what he received, IMO.... FACTS: Jolly was first arrested in 2008 for possession of 200 grams of codeine, a second degree felony. In August of 2010, Jolly avoided going to trial by agreeing with prosecutors on a pretrial diversion. If Jolly stayed out of trouble and completed other requirements, the charges against him would have been dropped in one year. But the latest incident in March of 2011 comes before the end of that one year timeline. Jolly could also not produce a driver's license and police determined his license had expired in 2007 and was denied for renewal. Finally, when police officers checked the vehicle they found a plastic bottle containing codeine the same drug that got him busted the first go round. Jolly was in possession of 600 grams of codeine according to police. Codeine is often mixed with another liquid, such as a soft drink, to form a recreational drug commonly known as "Purple drank." ------------------- He had plenty of time to seek therapy and go to a rehab center if he needed HELP kicking the habit that led to both felony's, and driving without a license to boot.....the dude is an addict, and is a 2 time Criminal!
depends what kind of codeine, but it says it was part of another substance which tells me it's something like cough syrup.
I see Jolly's problem.... he had no one to settle out of court with on regarding drug charges. Meanwhile down south... "Got drunk and killed a guy with your car?" "...hmm. It was only one guy. Alright, 30 days in jail. And you must have someone driving you around when you're in Florida from now on, ok?"
So the court or jury screws it up with one guy, thus all should walk free???? Hey, if we only had the death penalty country wide, we could have eliminated two knuckleheads....
Who does he think he is, drinking something that makes him feel good if only temporarily? He should be self-medicating with hard liquor like the rest of us...
Does the punishment fit the crime? Nope, but unfortunately our penal system isn't about rehabilitation. It's an epic timeout. With the amount of wealth these guys can achieve, I am amazed that the people who actually care about them don't hire a life coach, because some of these guys are boneheaded enough to end up like this.
Most of these boneheads are surrounded by other boneheads. That's why they're all broke 5 years after they retire.