Money Makes You Free

If money doesn’t buy happiness, it sure buys freedom.

Ryan Leaf was released on bail and Donte Stallworth will serve only 30 days in jail after killing a man.

Leaf was a man on the run for over a week and after spending just hours behind bars where he has been charged in Texas he was allowed to not only leave the jail, but was also allowed to fly back to his home state of Washington. From my understanding of the law in most cases you are not allowed out of the state you are charged in until after your court date, especially when one of the counts is a burglary.

Stallworth was drunk driving at 7am and killed a man who was crossing the street and Stallworth will be set free after just 30 days. From my understanding of the law if you kill a man, especially while driving drunk, you will serve a lengthy prison term. Also, there is no way that you will keep your job.

Stallworth is suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell with no timetable set for a return. I bet if it were me I would be fired, not suspended.

Every case in the justice system is held differently because cases are much the same as snow flakes, no two are exactly the same. There is a lot of differing factors in each of these cases, but the parallel is each of the defendants have enough cash to buy their way out of trouble.

Texas authorities were speaking out publicly in the hunt for Leaf, with one even saying "He can run, but he can not hide." Almost immediately after he turned him self in he posted bail and flew out of Texas back home to Washington. The authority, the district attorney for Randall County, Texas James Farren, should have added, "After we find him and he pays us then he can hide, we won't care once we have our money."

That's just how life goes. A normal man in either of these circumstances who could not afford to post bail would probably still be behind bars and would stay there for multiple years because they can't afford to pay a brilliant enough attorney, or an attorney with a good enough relationship with the judge, to get them off.

I don't know if Leaf and Stallworth's money always buys them happiness, but it sure bought them some extra freedom and they can't be mad at that.