Part 1: Judge Will Not Release Video of Stallworth's Vehicle Striking and Killing a Pedestrian
A Miami-Dade judge ruled this Thursday that the video showing former NFL star Donte Stallworth hitting and killing pedestrian Mario Reyes with his vehicle should not be released to the public. Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy's ruling came after both the family of the victim and Miami prosecutors had asked him not to release the tape. The judge agreed with their requests, stating that he had the right to forbid the release of the video because it was akin to autopsy photos or crime scene photos, which a judge can restrict under Florida state law. Stallworth, who previously had played for the Cleveland Browns, has been serving his 30 day jail sentence at the Miami-Dade County Jail after pleading guilty to DUI Manslaughter. Though he was sentenced to 30 days in jail Stallworth will only serve 24 additional days in jail. Florida law gives each person incarcerated in jail for 30 days or more 5 days of credit for their time served for every 30 days in jail. Additionally, Judge Murphy agreed to give Stallworth credit for the night he was booked in jail after he was arrested. In addition to serving 30 days in jail Stallworth is required to perform 1,000 hours of community service, serve two years of in home house arrest and eight additional years of probation. Stallworth also reached a financial agreement with the Reyes family to avoid a potential lawsuit related to the DUI. Though terms of the settlement were not disclosed publicly, Stallworth was covered by both a car insurance policy as well as a $5 million "umbrella" insurance policy. Before he was sentenced Stallworth told Judge Murphy that he hoped to get involved in drunk driving education programs.
The original report is available here.
