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| | Wednesday, June 7 NFL will not suspend Ravens linebacker | |||||
| Associated Press ATLANTA -- NFL star Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Monday under an agreement that drops murder charges in the stabbing deaths of two men outside a Super Bowl party. Lewis entered the plea before Judge Alice Bonner, who sentenced him to a year's probation under Georgia's first offender act. "It's a good day for Ray," defense attorney Don Samuel said as he entered the courthouse. The Baltimore Ravens linebacker walked in a few minutes later, tossing the yellow tennis ball he has clutched throughout the first two weeks of testimony in his murder trial. Defense attorney Ed Garland said he and Lewis discussed the plea agreement and went over his testimony before going to court. "He said a prayer with me about his duties and his responsibilities and what he was doing and he was happy to go forward and let the truth -- all of it -- come out," he said. Garland said Lewis' only crime was to tell his companions after the brawl that led to the deaths, "Keep your mouth shut," and giving an incomplete statement to police. "He fully acknowledges his responsibility for those acts," Garland told Bonner after the plea was entered. Lewis has a four-year, $26 million contract with the Ravens and is one of the NFL's best defensive players. The team said today he will be welcome to rejoin the club at a voluntary minicamp next week. The NFL said Lewis might be fined but will not be suspended. "If anyone in the NFL needed a reminder that high-profile professional athletes need to be extraordinarily careful in their associations and activities, Ray Lewis' experience provides that reminder," NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. Lewis and two friends, Joseph Sweeting and Reginald Oakley, were charged with murder, felony murder and aggravated assault in the stabbings of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker in the early-morning hours of Jan. 31. District Attorney Paul Howard refused to say how the plea was brokered but defended the decision to prosecute Lewis. "A trial is an instrument to reach the truth, and I think that in many respects it has been shielded," Howard said. "We are continuing to try to bring the truth forward." Samuel said Lewis will testify against his co-defendants as part of the deal, which also calls for aggravated assault charges against the linebacker to be dropped. But the lawyer said Lewis' testimony won't be "devastating" to Sweeting and Oakley. He said Lewis never saw a knife during the fight. Lewis is expected to testify Tuesday. Bonner sent the jurors home Monday morning, but defense attorneys asked her not to tell them about the plea. Steven Sadow, who represents Sweeting, said he remains confident despite the deal with Lewis. "No matter what Ray Lewis says, the jury will not find Joseph guilty," Sadow said. "It may have an effect on our overall strategy, but then again we have to hear what Ray says." Oakley's lawyer, Bruce Harvey, said, "The state just finished proving with several detectives that he (Lewis) is a liar. He was a liar when he was a defendant. I guess now he's the state's liar." Thomasaina Threatt, an aunt of Lollar, was among relatives of the victims who gathered outside the courtroom, many of them in tears. "You let a guilty man go free. Where's the justice in that?" she said. Prosecutors have presented little proof that Lewis assaulted anyone during the street fight outside an Atlanta nightclub. The prosecution's witnesses have flip-flopped, changing the stories they gave investigators just after the killings. Duane Fassett, the driver of Lewis' rented limousine, was expected to testify that he saw all three defendants fighting and that Oakley and Sweeting admitted stabbing the men. But in his testimony, Fassett said he saw Lewis raise his hand during the brawl, but never saw him strike anyone, and he said he didn't recall any admissions from Oakley or Sweeting. Without much direct evidence linking Lewis to the stabbings, prosecutors had tried to convince the jury that Lewis participated in a conspiracy to cover up the crime. Fassett reluctantly admitted on the stand that Lewis told everyone in the stretch Lincoln Navigator to "just keep your mouth shut and don't say nothing." Evelyn Sparks, who was riding in the limousine, said she saw another passenger dump a white hotel laundry bag into a garbage bin. Prosecutors say the bag contained Lewis' white suit and alleged it had blood on it. Sparks also said a photo of Lewis' entourage taken the night of the killings was destroyed. Ravens owner Art Modell said he looks forward to seeing Lewis back on the field. "From the beginning of this tough situation for all involved, we believed in and supported Ray Lewis," he said. "We also believe in the court system and the due process that found Ray to be innocent of the very serious charges. He can now get on with his life, including his work with the Ravens." The murder case was one of two involving NFL players last season. Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth was arrested in January on murder charges in the shooting of his pregnant girlfriend. |   Ray Lewis is read the conditions of his plea bargain by Judge Alice D. Bonner.wav: 448 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Lewis' attorney Ed Garland addresses the media.wav: 107 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Abbe Lowell details the upside and the downside of Lewis' plea bargain.wav: 453 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ray Lewis will become a witness against his companions in the murder trial.wav: 649 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Attorney Abbe Lowell breaks down what happened in the Ray Lewis case.wav: 972 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Coach Brian Billick and the Ravens had faith in Ray Lewis.wav: 100 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Shannon Sharpe has some words of encouragement for Ray Lewis.wav: 134 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Art Model wants his team to concentrate on football..wav: 86 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Brian Billick speculates how the league will punish Ray Lewis.wav: 850 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Brian Billick talks about his contact with Ray Lewis.wav: 785 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||