Donte Stallworth gets a slap on the wrist (and that's an understatement)

On March 14, 2009, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was partying and drinking at the Fontainebleau Hotel in South Beach. In fact, Stallworth partied all night. As the sun was coming up, he climbed in his Bentley and started to drive home. Speeding at 50 MPH in a 40 MPH zone, Stallworth saw a man crossing the road in front of his car. He flashed his lights, but perhaps due to his .126 BAC -- far above Florida's legal limit of .08 -- he mowed the guy down anyway. 59-year-old Mario Reyes was killed instantly.

Let me recap the story for you: Donte Stallworth killed a guy. While driving drunk. And not just a little drunk -- Stallworth was more than 50% above Florida's legal limit. Such reckless conduct cost Mario Reyes his life.

Today, Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. I repeat: one month in jail. After facing a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Anyone see anything wrong with this outcome?

As Billy Mays would say, "But wait...there's more!"

Thanks to Florida's generous laws regarding time already served, Stallworth will only spend 24 days behind bars, having received five days of credit because of a state statute dictating that anyone (with a few minor exceptions) who is sentenced to 30 days automatically gets five days' credit time served for every 30 days. That's right: Stallworth will spend a little more than 3 weeks in jail for killing a guy.

He will face other penalties as well. But let's take a look at just how much of a "slap on the wrist" these consequences are...

1. Stallworth must serve 2 years of house arrest. But since he currently enjoys a $35 million contract, and recently received a $4.5 million roster bonus (ironically, the night before the crime occurred), he will be arrested in a pretty freaking nice house. Life will surely be rough playing Xbox all day. Plus, the plea agreement dictates that this confinement will not prevent Stallworth from playing NFL football, so his source of income won't be affected by the house arrest.
   
2. Stallworth will be on probation for the next 8 years. Not much of a punishment. It's simply a requirement that he abide by all laws for the next 8 years. Which he should be doing anyway.
   
3. Stallworth got a "lifetime driver's license suspension." But under Florida law, after 5 years, he could win approval for limited driving for reasons such as employment. Not much of a "lifetime" suspension.
4. Stallworth must perform 1,000 hours of community service. Alright, this "punishment" makes sense. But you can be sure he won't be picking up roadside trash on an interstate. He will surely get the celebrity treatment, and instead be required to make a series of appearances at inner city public schools, which should consist of autograph signings and photo ops.
5. Stallworth avoided a costly civil settlement by relying on his car insurance policy and a $5 million umbrella insurance policy. So the settlement funds will not hurt his personal bank account.
6. Stallworth will have to undergo drug and alcohol testing. Which he already does for the NFL. Not much of a privacy invasion here. And he should be staying clean anyway, especially after killing someone while driving drunk.

I do respect Stallworth for not running from the scene of the crime. He did what a reasonably responsible person would do after mowing down a pedestrian: he stopped and called 911. But that's what every person with a driver's license and a car should do. So I'm not going to give him extra points for such an ordinary response, unlike Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who gave Stallworth credit for his "cooperation with police." Similarly, Stallworth's own attorney gave him credit for "[acting] like a man" and "remaining at the scene."

Look, I understand the victim's family's need to achieve closure to this painful chapter in their lives. And I understand that prosecutors like to offer plea bargains to secure a conviction. But Stallworth was indisputably drunk, unquestionably drove drunk, and was really, really drunk at the moment he killed a guy with his Bentley. And he will only serve 24 days in jail.

I am sick and tired of athletes and celebrities getting slapped on the wrist for legitimate crimes. O.J. is the ubiquitous example, although the issue of his guilt is actually debatable. More common examples include pushing back Plaxico's trial date so that he can play in the 2009 season and Corie Blount, the former NBA star, who received a 1-year sentence for possession of 30 pounds of marijuana (!!).

The fact is, Donte Stallworth was driving drunk and killed a human being. And he'll be out of jail in under a month...2 months before the upcoming NFL season (read: payday season) begins. Let's hope NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell does the right thing and suspends him for the entire season. If he won't do hard time, the least Goodell can do is hit Stallworth where it hurts: in the wallet. Clearly, the Miami Dade prosecutors didn't have the guts to get it right the first time around.