Vick attends animal cruelty class

According to Sports Illustrated online, Michael Vick attended a class held by PETA to teach respect for animals, and focused on animal cruelty. Dan Shannon, who was present during the entire class, said this about Vick during the class, "He was asking questions, following up on points we were making, taking notes. He seemed to be putting an honest effort into trying to get something out of the course.'' According to PETA’s website, the former Falcons quarterback first visited PETA's offices in Norfolk on Sept. 7 and met with Ingrid Newkirk, the group's president, in order to apologize for his abuse of dogs. At the end of this eight hour course, he was required to take an extensive written test, which he passed to the amazement of some PETA members. I think that this is part PR move, and part actually feeling bad for what he’s done. No one can deny that this move was probably made in part to make him look better to the jury, but I think that part of it is actually genuine repentance. Even though he took this course and demonstrated an interest in getting educated in animal cruelty, those a PETA still feel that Vick deserves prison time. This is typical, one class on why murder is bad would not keep him out of prison, but it might earn a little sympathy on the fact that he is truly sorry. Animal cruelty and murder is not as harsh or horrible as murdering another human being, but some people still feel strongly that there is little or no difference between the two. If Vick shows good behavior and demonstrates that he is truly sorry, then he may get a small break on the jail time or released earlier, however this probably isn’t very likely. Even if this move doesn’t influence his court decision, I still give him credit for trying to improve his image.

All quotes were found from www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com and the picture is from www.atlantafalcons.com.