Sheldon Richardson

[Celtsfan1980]

Driving 143 mph through a light with three people in the car(including a minor), resisting arrest. How much time should he be getting in jail?

[Mamba Mentality]

Hmmm lets see....driving around with a loaded semi automatic weapon and drug paraphernalia, endangering his child, and resisting arrest. I'm not legally savy, but that sounds like a minimum of 2 years to me. But the sad reality of the situation is that local prosecutors are probably going to let him off the hook with a slap on the wrist. Goodell is probably going to drop the ball on this one as well.

[Kaelin]

According to the Boston Globe, he can get a year for resisting arrest. I don't know how much the other infractions will affect him.

Crumple zones are amazing things in cars, because they allow people in accidents to come to a stop over a longer distance, reducing the force on their bodies. I don't know how much distance this ends up being in a Bentley, but I do know some basic mechanics in physics. 143 mph is about 210 feet per second, so assuming a stopping distance of 4 feet, we're looking at an acceleration on the human body equal to:

a = v^2/(2x) = (210 ft/s)^2/(2*4 ft) = 5512.5 ft/s^2 * (1 g / (32 ft/s^2)) ~= 172 g-force.

Referring to a website (http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/YuriyRafailov.shtml), this impact is definitely fatal. Even if the Bentley were to strike a single car at rest with the same mass in a perfectly inelastic collision, while the g-force *should* drop to 43 g (assuming speed is just relative here), this quantity is actually an average -- given that the acceleration won't be cleanly constant, the top deceleration will be a bit larger, and there's a good chance the kid still dies... and it'll probably be fatal for everyone else anyway if the crash isn't a clean one-car resting collision (like if the crash is at an angle and causes the car to spin, applying forces in directions that the human body handles worse than a head-on collision; the driver and passengers aren't facing forward; there's a pile-up or multiple hits; if the target vehicle is larger than the Bentley; or if I'm significantly overestimating the crumple zone). This is unquestionably fair game for a maximum in a reckless driving case, which in Missouri is worth 6 months if there is no accident: http://www.leadfootspeedingticket.com/2014/05/careless-and-imprudent-reckless-driving/ (and a class 2 misdemeanor).

I don't know whether the endangerment of a minor will involve charges that will be pressed, but if it is the case, it'd be a class C felony: http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/56800000452.html (with a penalty of up to 7 years, but courts get discretion, as this case may not necessarily justify the maximum felony C sentence: http://www.mosac.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=45441 )

18 months definitely seem to be on the table, but plea deals, probation, and the involvement of a child (felony) are wildcards in this matter. And I frankly have a hard time putting a number on this sort of thing in terms of what is "right." That said, 143 mph on actual roads is just mind-boggling -- "just" going over double the legal speed may not be a big deal, but legal speed limits are a lot faster than we give them credit for, and a lot of things in math translate to an over quadruple effect (energy, stopping distance) or worse ("jerk" would be over eight times as severe). Going that fast on public roads defies any sort of connection to reality, and he can't be separated from society to start (what needs to be) rehabilitation soon enough, nor can be allowed to drive a car for a long time (years).

[Icness]

He also had a loaded semi-automatic weapon and marijuana in the car. Already suspended 4 games for marijuana for a prior incident. Will be interesting to see how the NFL treats this outside of the courts.

[benchmobbin02]

With the Wilkerson contract stuff and now this, drafting Williams does seem like overloading at the position anymore. Being a Raider fan, I knew it was a great pick anyway. I couldn't decide who I wanted us to take between him and Cooper, so I read about and watched him intensely. But some thought you were over doing it. Not I!

[ATL Boy]

Freaking Idiot! Dude deserves to be in jail for this, but like Regime said, he'll get a slap on the wrist because he's rich.

[Froob]

Goodell has a loooooong history of going easy on the Jets, can't wait to see what happens...

[El Turco]

not sure why patriots fans still think nfl has a responsibility to make up for shortcomings of judicial system and compare this brady situation. even though they hand out punishments for off the field conduct to save a face, nfl's job is to regulate football nothing else, go yell at your lawmakers if you dont like the way rich people get away with stuff.

[cl2117]

not sure why patriots fans still think nfl has a responsibility to make up for shortcomings of judicial system and compare this brady situation. even though they hand out punishments for off the field conduct to save a face, nfl's job is to regulate football nothing else, go yell at your lawmakers if you dont like the way rich people get away with stuff.

Where has this happened in this thread?

[Fat Kat]

He also had a loaded semi-automatic weapon and marijuana in the car. Already suspended 4 games for marijuana for a prior incident. Will be interesting to see how the NFL treats this outside of the courts.

No marijuana was found and seeing that he avoided weapons charges, he was probably licensed to carry. I believe the charges are speeding and resisting arrest.

[El Turco]

not sure why patriots fans still think nfl has a responsibility to make up for shortcomings of judicial system and compare this brady situation. even though they hand out punishments for off the field conduct to save a face, nfl's job is to regulate football nothing else, go yell at your lawmakers if you dont like the way rich people get away with stuff.

Where has this happened in this thread?

general sentiment