Plea bargain to some kind of probation, perhaps with community service, would be my bet.

If only we had a society with enough dedication to the rule fo law to put this man in prison for endangering the lives of other...but we do not. Instead, we have a self-perpetuating system of feigned-at justice where the average person finds himself subject to laws and hopes to accumulate wealth and power so as to someday join that elite club that is so obviously above such petty and foolish attempts to limit their self-expression.

I agree with Janus, probation is enough, he shot himself which is 3/4 of the punishment in itself. If he weren't famous would the police bother at all? (unless during the incident a panic occured and others were injured) Beyond that, I hate to think of other situations where someone who is dumb enough to shoot themselves flees (if it happened publicly and accidently) or if at home avoids treatment for fear of prison. I sure as hell would not vote to convict for this. Not only will he have a permanent scar, but will be a joke for many years.

dropped charges after remorseful statement

Well, I mean, it all depends if Jack McCoy is prosecuting or not, doesn't it now?

Me, I vote that he shoots himself in the other foot, in the interests of balance.

blackton - Oh, god, no. I wasn't at all saying that probation would be appropriate. I won't be satisfied unless he gets the full fifteen years the law allows.

This man knowingly purchased a deadly weapon illegally, then took it into a crowded area, endangering the lives of all around him-proven, mind you, by the fact that he obviously DID discharge said deadly weapon in a manner he didn't intend. And have we heard a single shred of remorse? An apology? An expression of regret? No. Instead, we've heard his similarly machismo-drunk colleagues speaking for him, saying that they'll support him because people are "trying to bring him down."

He should be brought down. This kind of idiocy won't stop until we have a government with a commitment to the rule of law. If you break the law, you should go to prison, no matter your wealth, no matter your station, no matter how great your throwing arm is.

(Necessary caveat: this is not to say there are not unjust laws. There are. I don't want people given mandatory sentences for stealing candy bars or serving time for not checking the right box on a government form, or any number of other stupid things that are law. Preventing people from posing a danger to their fellow citizens, however, seems a perfectly reasonable function of law to me.)

NYC law is a mandatory 3 1/2 if caught with a gun and evidence that the moron with the gun intends to do something with it. [I simplify.] This doesn't seem to apply to a moron walking around with a gun just because it makes him seem cool. Especially a moron who doesn't know how to keep a safety on.

Incidentally, it's a Glock .40. A very nice toy.

We don't want morons with firearms wandering around the streets, but felony time is overkill. Give him 30 days, preferably in the stocks, and let it be.

BTW: Said moron has a $35M contract with some sort of a "don't be a moron" clause in it. Against stupidity the gods themselves labor in vain.

I sure HOPE Burress doesn't go to prison.  Now that Bill Clinton has stated unequivocally that he is not interested in the job, we're going to need someone to fill that New York senate seat.  

He'll do time.

I dunno. What's good enough for Dick Cheney ...

I think it's worth noting (as does Burress's lawyer) that he did not purchase the gun illegally. He made a legal purchase in Florida.  However, he brought the gun to New York, where he does not have a legal permit.

I hate the Giants for the most part, and I think Burress is an complete idiot.  But I also think that mandatory minimums are stupid. However, he could have hurt or killed someone else or killed himself (Sean Taylor died of a gunshot wound to the leg a year ago).

Mike has pure a lot of fire behind this to back down now.  I'll predict Burress gets the minimum, ending his career in the NFL. Burress may be one of the best receivers in the league today on top of all he's done for New York, but they can win without him (and it's not like those wins have been squeakers). The Giants did great once they lost Tiki and Shockey. Losing great players with big egos tends to work out well for them.

I think you let Burress recover fully, keep his contract, and play him when NYPD drop charges. But make him come to practices -- THAT will be punishment enough for Plax.

Bloomberg might be the mayor of New York, but he's from Boston.  It's payback.

If there's one member of the New York Giants that I would expect to shoot himself in the leg, it's Plaxico Burress.  When I heard the news on WFAN on saturday morning, I wasn't shocked, i wasn't mortified, I wasn't upset.  I was just like, "of COURSE Plaxico shot himself in the leg.  Who else would?"

Having Burress out wide is a nice bonus, but he's less much less vital to the team's success than one of the offensive linemen.

janus, my bad, I meant that I agree with your prediction, I don't agree with your prescription. I ran the two thoughts into one sentence. I think Prison should be for criminals, not idiots. Yes, he was reckless but he harmed only himself, and if we jail everyone for what might have happened, well then every drunk driver should get mandatory jail time because they might have killed someone. I think we have way too many people in prison in our society, and that jailing him benefits no one. He is not a threat to anyone (besides himself) and is almost assuredly not even that anymore. That is what probation is for.

My guess is Plaxico Burress loses his job with the Giants (as well as his $35 million contract). Then Mayor Mike arranges for PB to do time with Michael Vick's vicious dogfighting dogs (both the living and the dead dogs, just to make an example of him). Drew Rosenhaus then represents both Burress and Vick in a mega-deal to wrestle each other on a pay-per-view, for which they are paid $35 mil.

blackton: I'm also for mandatory prison time for drunk drivers (I'm almost tempted to advocate for the death penalty for drunk drivers on the first offense, but while I am tempted, my blanket opposition to the death penalty does always end up winning out.). A drunk driver put his car through a house near mine a very short time ago; it was only by blind luck that no one was injured, but I damn well do believe that he should be punished for what might have happened.

I agree that many people are in prison today that shouldn't be, but only because I think that many current laws that put them there are idiotic. I'm not sure that I agree that too many people are in prison, because there are thousands upon thousands of people who should be in prison and are not; authority figures intervene to place them above the law because they're in a position of authority or power or are useful to someone. Plaxico Burress, Marion Barry, police officers that abuse their authority, college athletes and professional athletes who commit all manner of crimes...the list goes on.

Sentence in the neighborhood of 18-24 months, suspended so he does no actual time. Probation of something like 5 years. Loss of job, future employment with the Oakland Raiders in 2009.

I approve, marcellus.

It really all depends on just how many JETS fans get on the jury.  I mean, if he gets a jury of 12 chanting "J E T S, J E T S, JETS! JETS! JETS!, then he'll be doing more than the 3 1/2 minimum.

This idiot will not serve a day in jail.  On the other hand, any poor bastard in NYC that wanted to keep a piece in his joint would go down hard if discovered.

Prediction:  One year's probation and 100 hours of C.S.  Vick seethes.

Gun laws aren't enforced enough in this country. Throwing this jackass in jail for 7-15 years would be a great place to start sending the message that violating gun laws has serious consequences.  The NFL should also ban him from the game.  The behavior these thugs get away with is astounding.

Oddly enough, I haven't seen any comments related to Plaxico Burress and fantasy football.  As a not-so-proud owner of Plax, the best part of the ongoing saga is that anyone familiar with Plax's struggles this season were entirely nonplussed by this latest twist.  It's as if we all expected this to happen.

He won't do any time, but he'll face a suspension from the NFL when he returns next year with the Oakland Raiders.

Plax Burress is an idiot for this, yes, but I am not sure what saying so accomplishes other than providing a safe opportunity for racially tinged venting about "overpaid" athletes who act like gangsters and thugs.  I wonder what the outrage level would be if Bret Favre had shot himself in the leg with a good ole shotgun he brought up illegally from Louisiana and carried into a 7-11 to show some fellers while buying some Skoal.  Yuks and apologists, I imagine.  If the mans' salary increases the outrage level, I'dl like to point out that professional athlete pay is paltry compared to the salaries of the current cadre of still unflinchingly entitled Wall Street folks, and banking and corporate execs who have now have their hands out after havintg created much more damage than Plax Burress ever could.  

Plax's possession of of a Glock in a club should shock no one who knows anything about those places, and I am sure (when he makes himself available for the requisite mea culpa on Larry King Live, etc) he'll make noises about how people like him are targets and feel the need to protect themselves, ad nauseum.  I'll be looking for the NRA to get squarely behind Mr. Burress and adopt him as the new symbol for the removal of all restrictions to gun ownership.  A listing among the Darwin Award wannabees is assured.

Burress should be treated like everyone else who commits this crime and (after shooting themselves) attempts to conceal it (a number I imagine is substantial).   What his employer ought to do is no more our concern than what the employers of the 2,074 individuals who were charged with murder, rape, robbery, felonious assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto, LAST WEEK in New York City (11/24-11/30) ought to do.  If this crime is analogous to drunk driving, and I am inclined to think it is, I can imagine that statistic is staggering in NYC.  Since the vast majority of criminal convictions follow plea agreements, with 20 percent of cases being dismissed altogether, I don't imagine the mob currently after the man's head at the moment is going to be satisfied when it's all over and will have to resort to re-reading coverage of the Michael Vick case.

Racially tinged?  What comments are racially tinged?  Is "thug" race-specific?