Lil Wayne to Receive Lesser Sentence than Plaxico Burress for the Same Charge

Lil Wayne will be sentenced today in Manhattan Supreme Court after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in October 2009. According to the New York Post, he is set to receive a one year sentence. It is interesting to note that this is the same charge to which wide receiver Plaxico Burress plead guilty in August 2009. Burress received a 2 year prison sentence. One difference between the two cases is that Plaxico Burress told his story to the grand jury, whereas Wayne refrained from doing so. There is, however, no reason to think that the D.A.’s office or the court in the Burress case held the fact that he testified against him when it came to the sentence, as Burress appears to have testified truthfully. The discrepancy in the sentence can probably be chalked up to the different circumstances under which each of the men were arrested. While Wayne only allegedly possessed a firearm inside his tour bus, Burress’s weapon was taken inside a busy nightclub and actually (although accidentally) discharged.

UPDATE: March 2, 2010: Lil’ Wayne’s sentencing was delayed on account of a fire in the courthouse. http://bit.ly/a3jsgQ