Ray Lewis antes up for crime

[Southpaw]

" POSTED 6:42 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:42 a.m. EDT, May 3, 2004



LEWIS PAYS NEARLY $2 MILLION?



On the heels of Saturday's report in the Baltimore Sun that Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis paid at least $1 million to settle the civil wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the two men who died following a brawl with Lewis's entourage in January 2000, there are rumors in league circles that Lewis has paid as much as $2 million to resolve the claim.



The real number never will be officially disclosed, since the payment was made pursuant to a confidentiality agreement, which ostensibly prevents anyone from talking about it. The fact that the Sun persuaded "court sources" to blab in the first place could prompt some type of a reaction from Lewis's attorneys. The only potential drawback, however, is that this would keep the story in the news even longer, potentially prompting more folks to conclude that the size of the payment speaks to Lewis's actual responsibility for the crimes for which no one ever was convicted.



Folks who know the realities of the legal system understand that a payment does not necessarily equate to such a concession. A league source told us that the payment was "excruciating" for Lewis, but that Lewis knew he couldn't afford to lose big in court, especially since he's already paid an "astronomical" amount in attorneys' fees in the criminal proceedings and in the two separate civil action that were pursued on behalf of the two victims. (Lewis previously entered into a confidential settlement with the other victim's family.)



So now the ordeal is officially over for Lewis, except for the fact that information regarding the payment that he made has made its way into the public domain. Our prediction is that Lewis will let it go at this point, since the only way he'll be able to have closure is to simply move on "

I guess that is the way it is. Jayson " Chauffer Killer" Williams is now on the clock.

P.S. I wonder if the NFL will continue to promote Lewis as one of it's cover boys.

 

[Southpaw]

A bit more detail

" LEWIS PAYS FOR CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT?

Ravens linebacker initially was prosecuted for the January 2000 murder of two men in Atlanta. During the trial, the charges were dropped in lieu of a guilty plea to obstruction of justice -- primarily because the evidence wasn't flowing in a manner that the prosecution had hoped.

Four years later, Lewis is coughing up major coin to the daughter of one of the two victims.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Lewis will pay "at least $1 million" to India Lollar, the 4-year-old daughter of Richard Lollar.

(Though the Sun glosses over this issue, the payment was supposed to be confidential, which means that the number never should have been disclosed. The Sun cites "court sources" as the basis for the information, but it's possible that someone will get in trouble for blabbing on this one.)

The settlement was reached at a mediation session conduct on April 29, which Lewis personally attended. Mediation is a non-binding alternative to litigation, in which a third party (typically a retired judge or a lawyer with no connection to the case) presides over negotiations -- and ultimately runs offers back and forth between the two camps.

If the case had not been settled, trial would have commenced on June 14. And the outcome might have been no different that the case of O.J. Simpson, who was exonerated of criminal charges but nailed with an eight-figure verdict under the reduced standard for civil liability, which does not give the defendant a way out based on the ability of his lawyer to raise a cloud of "reasonable doubt."

The difference between Simpson and Lewis is that Lewis has a lot more in liquid assets, and he's still earning millions every year. Thus, Lewis potentially would have been playing football for free if he'd lost the case, potentially for the balance of his career.

Though every defendant who settles a case makes no admission of liability, the average person typically views any payment -- especially in the range of $1 million or more -- as an implicit concession of responsibility. Whether those sentiments affect Lewis's image, which amazingly has been rehabilitated over the past few years, remains to be seen.

 

[jerryp]

So the next to last paragraph says he basically made the right choice because if he had been found innocent it still could have cost him far more than two million dollars.

Then the last paragraph basically accuses him of being guilty because he settled for so much.

Awesome journalism, dude.