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Vick to be sentenced on dogfighting charge

Disgraced National Football League star Michael Vick, already behind bars for his role in a dogfighting ring, will learn just how long he will remain jailed when he is sentenced today.

US District Judge Henry Hudson, who will impose a sentence upon Vick, has already sentenced two of the player's co-defendants, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips, to 18 and 21 months for conspiracy in the ring, which saw shocking animal cruelty.

In sentencing Peace and Phillips, Hudson called what happened to the dogs a "tragedy" and told Phillips "you may have thought this was sporting, but it was very callous and cruel."

Both punishments were in line with federal sentencing guidelines but more than what prosecutors had recommended because of the men's cooperation.

By imposing less than the maximum five-year sentence, Hudson buoyed Vick's hope that he will follow guidelines for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback, which could make a 12-month to 18-month sentence more likely than five years.

But Vick could receive more time because he was the financier of the dogfight gambling ring and housed the dogs on his property, taking part in brutal animal slayings that shocked his NFL fans.
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