Of course he paid his legal debt to society for gambling. However, has Nike offered O.J. Simpson a contract? Simpson was a great athlete and unlike Vick, he was never convicted of a federal offense. So what is the difference between the two? One denies killing anyone and one admits he shot, hung, drowned, electrocuted, and beat dogs to death. One repels us and one is celebrated by us.

How many of you think O.J. Simpson deserves redemption for his crimes? Were he offered a contract by Nike or named Sportsman of the Millenium, the outcry would be swift and loud.

The behaviors Vick displayed are sociopathic. They are dangerous. And he has never once expressed any remorse over the fate of the dogs he tortured. Their lives were torture and their deaths were not merciful releases.

One only needs a modicum of empathy to understand the horrific lives and deaths of the Vick dogs. Treated viciously to make them vicious. Starved. Forced exercise. Fighting that shredded their skin and broke their bones. This, Vick admits, was done for fun.

And when the dog's viciousness did meet Vick's expectations? A humane death was not in the cards.

Imagine how long it takes a fighting dog whose neck is solidly muscled to hang to death. Could you watch while the dog struggled, its feet desperately looking for some solid ground and blood ran from its mouth and its eyes bulged? Vick did.

Could you hold a struggling animal, restraining its legs while you plunged its head in bucket and let it slowly drown to death? Vick did.

Could laugh or talk sports while a dog was hooked to a car battery and thrown in water to die in horrendous pain and fear? Vick did.

Could you take a dog who didn't die fast enough and bodily slam it to the ground over and over with such force its skull cracked and its back broke? Vick did.

These were not humane euthanasias done clinically. These deaths were personal, hands-on, killings and that is pathological. That is killing because killing is fun.

If you don't find something horrific in celebrating a man who took perverse pleasure in killing an animal for sport and fun then you are less than human. Vick has his second chance, his murdered dogs do not. Vick has a paycheck, a wife, children. 35 dogs never felt the kindness of human touch. Vick has his second chance but he is not a role model or someone to be admired and emulated.

One may be able to pay their legal debt to society but their moral debt to humanity never ends. Never.

if you did any research at all, like read the court documents and/or the Lost Dogs book by sports illustrator senior editor Jim Gorant, you would know all this, but clearly you have not, so here goes…

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jamie-fitzgerald/w…

Today should be a marvelous day for all Michael Vick supporters everywhere. Once again a pseudo-celebrity is being released from prison, having completed her court assigned incarceration for a violent crime. Well, let me rephrase that – completing their sentence for a trivial crime associated with their alleged involvement in a violent crime. Casey Anthony served two and a half years for "providing false statements to investigators" and Vick served one and a half years for "promoting interstate gambling." Anthony COULD have spent the rest of her life – a life that MAY have been shortened by the State – in prison, and Vick COULD have spent upwards of six decades in state prison. But the courts have spoken, sentences have been served, and both are free to do as they please. They have served their time, so it's time to just get over it. At least that's how the sentiment goes for Vick…

if you did any research at all, like read the court documents and/or the Lost Dogs book by sports illustrator senior editor Jim Gorant, you would know all this, but clearly you have not, so here goes…

i will move on when vick is actually charged with animal cruelty and dog fighting as he was not, which means he would be in jail for at least 65 years, when he actually meets with the good people who cleaned up his mess and have taken loving care of the dogs that were his that he abused and tortured, and when he gives at least $50 million to a pit bull shelter/rescue, no kill facility. oh yeah, a REAL apology to the dogs and to their adopters would be good, too. so far all I've heard him say is that he is sorry he got caught and he wishes his sentence was shorter and that he does not care about the dogs.

I also agree with this guy… who outlines the case and talks about the corrupt prosecutor in the Vick case and compares the evidence in the Anthony case (non-existent) and in the Vick case (overwhelming)…
https://www.facebook.com/notes/jamie-fitzgerald/w…

Today should be a marvelous day for all Michael Vick supporters everywhere.  Once again a pseudo-celebrity is being released from prison, having completed her court assigned incarceration for a violent crime.  Well, let me rephrase that – completing their sentence for a trivial crime associated with their alleged involvement in a violent crime.  Casey Anthony served two and a half years for "providing false statements to investigators" and Vick served one and a half years for "promoting interstate gambling."  Anthony COULD have spent the rest of her life – a life that MAY have been shortened by the State – in prison, and Vick COULD have spent upwards of six decades in state prison.  But the courts have spoken, sentences have been served, and both are free to do as they please. They have served their time, so it's time to just get over it.  At least that's how the sentiment goes for Vick…