Michael Vick pleads guilty in dogfighting case

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal in the dogfighting case.

Michael Vick pleads guilty in dogfighting case According to CNN, the troubled Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has agreed to accept a plea deal in the illegal dogfighting case. A statement by his lead defense attorney Billy Martin read the following:

"After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick asks that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his action and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

The legal team of Michael Vick has been negotiating for a few weeks with the prosecution over the details of the plea deal, which is still to be approved by a judge. According to an earlier article by CNN, the federal prosecutors offered 18-36 months in jail for Vick, but his attorneys were working to lower the time served by the quarterback to less than an year. A plea deal would also help Michael Vick to avoid additional federal charges, which sounds tempting, after the prosecutors announced last week that more indictments are coming in the illegal dogfighting ring.

All three of the co-defendants in Vick's case have already submitted guilty pleas, and are pointing at Michael Vick as the main financial backup of the operation. Two of the co-defendants have also stated that Vick took part in the killing of at least eight "underperforming" dogs, according to court papers.

Published on 08/20/2007