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6mth jail sentance for jones
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7182969.stm
:eek2: :eek:
Now I realise you cant have steroided up people competing in the olympic games really, but WTF its only sport. I hardly think its worthy of a custodial sentance, especially when she has two young children, one who is a baby and still being breastfed. What the hell did THEY do to deserve having their mother removed???
Absolutely preposterous.
Prisons shouldnt be for this! Shes not a danger to the public. Completely OTT
American Olympian Marion Jones has been sentenced to six months in prison for lying about steroid use and involvement in a drugs fraud case.
The former sprinter pleaded guilty last October and was sentenced on Friday.
Mother-of-two Jones, 32, had asked US District Judge Kenneth Karas to be "as merciful as a human being can be".
But the judge imposed the maximum under her plea deal "because of the need for general deterrence and the need to promote respect for the law".
Judge Karas said he believed a message needed to be sent to athletes who have abused drugs and as a result, have overlooked the values of "hard work, dedication, teamwork and sportsmanship".
"Athletes in society have an elevated status, they entertain, they inspire, and perhaps, most important, they serve as role models."
He added: "Nobody is above the legal obligation to tell the truth."
MARION JONES FACTS
Born: 12/10/75, Los Angeles
Olympic medals: 100m gold (2000), 200m gold (2000) 4x400m gold (2000) 4x100m bronze (2000), Long jump bronze (2000)
World championship medals: 100m gold (1997, 99), 200m gold (2001), 4x100m (gold), 100m silver (2001) Long jump bronze (1999)
* Jones was stripped of all her medals and results from September 2000
Afterwards Jones said outside court: "I respect the judge's order, and I truly hope that people will learn from my mistakes."
Lawyers for the defence had asked the judge to give the former sprinter probation or house arrest.
Having already apologised, retired and given up her five Olympic medals, Jones has been punished enough, they argued.
Jones sentencing included two years' probation and supervised release, during which she will be required to perform 800 hours of community service.
She has been ordered to surrender on 11 March to begin her jail term.
'Deeply sorry'
A tearful Jones asked the judge to consider her commitment to her two children, including an infant son she is still nursing.
"Your honour, I absolutely realise the gravity of these offences and I am deeply sorry," she said.
Lawyers for the prosecution had suggested any sentence between probation and six months would be fair.
The offences here are serious. They each involve lies made three years apart
Judge Kenneth Karas
Fall from grace
Once arguably the most famous female athlete in the world, Jones won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay as well as bronzes in the long jump and 4x100m relay, at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
While her charisma and big smile won her a global fan base, her success on the track coupled with photogenic looks won her lucrative endorsements.
But she suffered a spectacular fall from glory last October, admitting lying to a federal investigator in November 2003 when she denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
She admitted using a steroid between September 2000 and July 2001.
Tearful apology
Jones also pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators in 2003 about a separate cheque fraud case involving her former boyfriend, sprinter Tim Montgomery, the father of her son, Monty.
Montgomery and several others have been convicted in that scam.
Judge Karas had sought advice as to whether he could go beyond the six-month maximum sentence suggested in the plea deal.
"The offences here are serious. They each involve lies made three years apart," he said on Friday, adding that Jones had made "not a one-off mistake... but a repetition in an attempt to break the law".
He said he did not believe a statement by Jones in October when she said she did not realise she was taking steroids until after the 2000 Olympic Games.
"That is very difficult to believe, that a top-notch athlete... would not be keenly aware of what he or she put in her body," the judge said.
Jones, who returned her medals even before the International Olympic Committee ordered her to do so, has since had her name expunged from the record books.
Hers was one of a number of high-profile doping cases involving top American athletes that have prompted the US Olympic Committee to team up with Major League Baseball and the National Football League with a new initiative aimed at combating drug use in US sport.
:eek2: :eek:
Now I realise you cant have steroided up people competing in the olympic games really, but WTF its only sport. I hardly think its worthy of a custodial sentance, especially when she has two young children, one who is a baby and still being breastfed. What the hell did THEY do to deserve having their mother removed???
Absolutely preposterous.
Prisons shouldnt be for this! Shes not a danger to the public. Completely OTT
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Comments
if she had been caught in possession then the custodial sentence would have been justifiable. as it is she has been given a custodial sentence of 6 months for lying about drug use. though that in itself is deception for personal gain - isn't it
it might seem harsh from a family perspective but may be she should have thought about the consequences before...
The crime isnt even a new one, and shes no danger to the public. Taking a mother away from their children could lead to attachment issues for the children in the future too.
People get non-custodial sentances for a hell of a lot worse crimes than this. I DO think they should look towards non custodial sentances for mothers with young children in their care, in all but the most extreme circumstances, because its not just the woman thats being punished.
but special treatment is best avoided if possible
apart from the breastfeeding, what if it was their father would you feel the same?
why? babies can grow up fairly well on bottled milk. its not a critical issue.
:rolleyes:
You cant just take away a breastfed baby from its mother and expect it to just take a bottle. It doesnt work like that.
I think in this case, the children are going to be the ones that suffer more than the mother.
and id suggest you read up a bit more about breastfeeding maybe
It's hard on the children but she should have thought about that before she committed a serious high-level fraud. She's got off fairly lightly when you consider the financial implication of what she did.
I have no sympathy for drug cheats. I do have sympathy for her family but when it comes down to it she shouldn't get away with what she did just because she has a young family. She's put herself in this position, nobody else, and if her baby has to be without its mother its her fault.
But she commited fraud. Can you honestly say that you don't believe people who commit fraud should be sent to jail?
Exactly.
I think thats the biggest reason why she has been sentenced to do time.She lied in court at a previous investigation.
Most top athletes use steroids so we would never see any of them going to prison for it..