Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Who Dat Say News: Grant Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter

News: According to the AP, New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for his role in a bar fight back in February. The fight took place at a Georgia nightclub and resulted in the death of Korynda Reed and her unborn fetus.

Who Dat Say: Let's not rush to judgment on this one. Another patron of the nightclub, Laquient Macklin, has been charged with felony murder and feticide, which means that Macklin likely fired the shots that killed Reed in the course of the fight. Based upon the charges, it appears Charles Grant is being charged with involuntary manslaughter soley for his participation in the altercation. Five other individuals were hit with the same charges as Grant. So what does this all mean? Roger Goodell is nothing if not a disciplinarian who holds his NFL players to a very high standard of conduct. Whether Grant ever touched the woman who was killed, he was in one way or another, a participant in a fight. Therefore, a suspension could be coming down any day. However, Commissioner Gooddell has yet to step in and issue any punishment, which may mean that he is waiting for the legal system to engage in some fact-finding before he takes action. Goodell has known about the incident for months now. And it's entirely possible that Grant was merely defending himself from an attacker in a fight that ultimately lead to someone's death - an extremely unfortunate position for anyone to be put in, but a position in which NFL players seem to find themselves from time to time. Grant was, after all, stabbed in the neck, and according to the AP, the shots were fired before Grant was stabbed. Until we know what really happened though, it would be reckless of us to speculate any further. We support Charles Grant, and we hope those responsible for the death of a woman and her unborn child are brought to justice at all costs, regardless of who those people may be.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what to think about this one yet. The indictement is bizarre. It smells a little like someone has a shot at getting their name in the paper. It's hard to know for sure without knowing what actually happened in the bar fight. (I tried to find the old article on NOLA, but that site continues to anger and frustrate me at every turn. How can it be so bad?!) I hope Charles can get these charges dismissed and get back to work as soon as possible.

Also, as someone who has very recently become a father, I can't imagine what the family of the young pregnant lady must be going through. My heart goes out to them and I hope the person/s responsible rot in jail for a very long time.

Anonymous said...

If only someone associated with this site had any legal knowledge whatsoever, then perhaps some light could be shed on this issue.

Anonymous said...

and those with legal knowledge know better than to attempt to "shed too much light" before knowing all the facts.