Jayson Williams once led the NBA in rebounding at about 15 boards a game. He once was a dominant interior defender who could run the floor and finish with the best of them. Now Jayson Williams is going to Prison. Over the years we have seen several athletes make mistakes off the court/field of play, but Williams has continuously hurt himself with his actions.
Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.
The sentences on the assault and cover-up counts will run concurrently. State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman went along with a plea agreement that spelled out the five-year prison sentence and the potential for Williams to be released as early as summer 2011.
Prior to today's sentencing Williams had several misfortunes and brush ups with the law. His wife filed for divorce last year. Police used a stun gun on him in a New York hotel last year after a female friend said he was acting suicidal. He was charged with assault in May after allegedly punching a man in the face outside a North Carolina bar, but charges were dropped. His father, E.J., with whom he owned a construction business, died in South Carolina in November. Last month he was charged with drunken driving after he crashed his SUV in Manhattan. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Williams could never get his life in order and now he is paying a hefty price by going to prison where he probably should of been years ago. I Hope he can make the necessary changes in his life and come out a better person which is all we can hope for. Unfortunately, society will only give you so many chances, I just hope Jayson Williams hasn't run out of his.
RP
He has run out...
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