Inevitable Indictment Binds Burress

In Super Bowl XLII, Plaxico Burress snared the penultimate pass. On September 4, he signed a 5-year, $35 million contract. On September 25, he was suspended for two weeks. On December 1, he was charged with criminal weapons possession. Burress’ plunge was both conceivable and unfathomable.

On Monday, Burress was indicted. The potential penalty? Forty-two months incarceration. “The grand jury applied the law to the facts of this case,” said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

On November 27, Burress entered a nightclub. His concealed weapon was unregistered. Burress’ gun slipped. A bullet pierced his thigh. On December 2, he was suspended again. On April 3, the Giants released him. “When you have the mayor and the district attorney both publicly demanding a maximum prison sentence, it was perhaps too much to hope for the grand jury to conduct a sympathetic review of the unique facts of this sad case,” said Burress’ Attorney Benjamin Brafman.

During his career, Burress has amassed 505 receptions, 7,845 yards, and 55 touchdowns. With the Giants, he totaled 244 receptions, 3,681 yards, and 33 touchdowns. “

In New York, criminal weapons possession is an unjustifiable offense. Burress’ career is concluded. He will be incarcerated. The question is his sentence.