Former Olympic track star, Marion Jones, has requested President Bush to commute her six-month prison sentence. She was sentenced to six months for denying under oath that she used performance-enhancing drugs and a cheque-fraud scam. Jones admitted last October that she had lied in November of 2003 about using performance-enhancing drugs. Perhaps more concerning, Jones also admitted that she fibbed when she denied knowing that Tim Montgomery, the father of her son, had been involved in a scheme to cash stolen or forged checks. Commutation of a sentence reduces time served. It is not a pardon which would actually remove the conviction. Her application will be reviewed by the Justice Department, which will make a recommendation to President Bush.
Jone's (pictured above courtesy of the A.P.) achievement of winning three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics has been forever tainted. Losing the medals and being disgraced in public is punishment enough for the steroid denial. The cheque -fraud scam; however, may be another story. Jones has been in a Fort Worth, Texas federal prison since March 7. An early release becomes less significant as her projected September release date approaches. Upon her release, Jones must also do 800 hours of community service during the two year period after her release.
Perhaps some fatherly advice is in order. Do your time. Accept your punishment as appropriate for your mistake. An early release is of little positive significance and will only adds to a mountain of negative publicity. Start down a straight path and the American people will likely forgive you for lying about drug use and for trying to protect your former lover. Fail to accept responsibility, and a further downward spiral is likely. The choice is yours. Many of us will be pulling for you to make the right decision.
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13 comments:
She was fast. She fell from grace just as quickly!
No man is worth going to jail for, honey. You should have given him up long ago.
Bertha
Do the crime; do the time time.
I keep thinking about the silver and bronze winners that didn't get their day of glory because of a cheat. Not fair.
Bertha,
amen, sister!... and no woman is worth going to jail for either.
LOL, the sisterhood of the traveling running shoes
Talk about pulling a HAMstring!
It never ceases to amaze me that celebrities, and other people with money, talk to the feds without a lawyer present. That’s why Martha Stewart went to jail, not for any stock scam, but for lying to the fbi. If these people, who can afford legal representation, would simply say when the feds come knocking, “Here is my lawyers number, he/she will answer all your questions, but on his/her advise I won’t talk to you. Have a nice day,”, they would not be in need of a presidential pardon. I have always maintained that many people are smart enough to be rich and successful, but few people are smart enough to be successful criminals.
TRue, but Joel, we don't really want smart criminals, do we?
My bet is 2nd and 3d place also used juice!
Why stop at third place?
Many athletes are guilty of using "juice."
Most of them will never see the inside of a jail.
And if lying is a crime then Bush should spend some time in the iron bar motel.
Don't hold anything back secret
Others cheat too! Two members of the 2008 Jamaican Olympic track team apparently received shipments of performance-enhancing drugs through an Internet distribution network (See SI article)between June 2006 and February 2007. Allegedly there were two shipments of Somatropin (Human Growth Hormone, HGH) and one shipment of Triest (Estrogen). Athlete Delloreen Ennis-London is suspected of receiving such illegal shipments. Ennis-London, 33, is a Jamaican hurdler who won a silver medal in the 2005 World Championships. In Beijing, she finished fifth. The information only pertains to receipt and not actual use of performance-enhancers, so to say she took the drug would be a leap without proof.
In November 2006, a shipment of Testosterone, Testosterone Aqueous, and Oxandrolone (an oral steroid) were sent to Adrian Findlay, an alternate on the Jamaican Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles. Again, shipment is not proof of actual use.
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