Ray Rice’s prosecutor, James P. McClain, stated he did not show leniency by letting Rice off the hook with a pretrial intervention program for striking his wife, but reports suggest otherwise.
According to ESPN, there were 15,130 domestic violence cases in the New Jersey court system throughout 2013, and 3,508 of those involved assault. Just 30 of those cases ended with pretrial intervention. That’s less than one percent.
“I can’t say I’ve ever had a violent crime of this nature accepted into the PTI — in any county,” defense attorney Richard Sparaco said via ProFootballTalk. “With this type of domestic violence and the video that we’ve all seen now, you’d have to say if a prosecutor sees that video, it would be quite surprising to us defense attorneys to see acceptance into the PTI program.”
Had it not been for McClain allowing Rice to have pretrial intervention, the former Baltimore Ravens running back could have been facing three to five years in jail for aggravated assault. Instead, all he has to do is take anger management classes and stay out of trouble for a year.
It sounds like he received a pretty good deal for his actions.
Photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
