Prosecutor Defends Ray Rice Case As NFL Launches Independent Investigation
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- The scandal surrounding the Ray Rice domestic assault case continues to grow. Now the league is launching an independent investigation into its handling of the case. And Rice's prosecutor is speaking out.
Investigative reporter Mike Hellgren has more on the new developments.
New Jersey law advises that those who commit violent crimes should "generally be rejected" from the program Rice was allowed into instead of potentially facing jail time for knocking his then-fiancee unconscious. But the prosecutor who handled the case says he signed off on this course of action after reviewing the circumstances and consulting with Janay Palmer, now Rice's wife.
Rice was initially suspended from two games. But since the TMZ video, he was released by the Ravens and barred indefinitely by the league. In the criminal case, he can avoid prosecution and a criminal record by completing the pretrial intervention program.
Advocates for victims of domestic violence have accused investigators of being too lenient to Rice and lawmakers have called for a review of the case, while defense attorneys and experts disagree that his stardom led to leniency and some say Rice's case was given more scrutiny because of his fame.
"A domestic violence scenario with the same fact patterns would be a simple assault case in municipal court," said New Jersey defense attorney James Leonard Jr. "He was actually treated more harshly because he was Ray Rice."
Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain has defended Rice's entry into the program and told The Press of Atlantic City that Rice likely wouldn't have faced jail time if he had gone to trial on third-degree aggravated assault charges.
"Just like it is not just or fair to go easier on somebody because of who they are, neither is it fair or just to go heavier on somebody because of who they are," McClain told the newspaper. "I felt, and still feel, this disposition was appropriate."
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says the team made a mistake handling the Rice video.
"The question is why didn't we try harder with the casino...We stopped, I regret that we didn't keep up with it," Bisciotti said.
The heat over Ray Rice is now on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
"We asked for video, but we were never granted that opportunity," he said.
The commissioner's denial that he tried to but could not get the infamous elevator video is being challenged by a law enforcement source.
That source told the Associated Press he gave the DVD to an NFL executive more than five months ago and provided a voicemail to prove it.
An Associated Press reporter heard a voicemail from an NFL number from April 9 acknowledging the video had been delivered.
"Thanking the law enforcement official for sending it, and telling him 'he's right, it's terrible,'" said reporter Rob Maaddi. "I have complete confidence in my source. He is very credible. And this is a story that we were working on for days, and long hours, and it is not something that we would go with unless we were rock solid sure."
The source's claim is now part of the league's independent investigation.
It's headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller. WJZ has learned Mueller works for a D.C. law firm that recently negotiated a deal worth billions for the NFL.
The same law firm used to employ Ravens' GM Dick Cass.
Two old-guard team owners from the Giants and the Steelers will supervise the investigation.
John Mara and Art Rooney III released the following joint statement:
"Commissioner Goodell called us on Wednesday evening and requested that we oversee the independent investigation that will be conducted by former FBI Director Robert Mueller III. Our role is not to conduct or direct the investigation but to support Mr. Mueller and assist him in gaining whatever access or resources he needs. At the conclusion of Mr. Mueller's investigation, we will receive his findings on behalf of the League's owners.
"We have spoken with Mr. Mueller today, and he has informed us he is prepared to begin immediately. No timeline was established and we stressed that he should take as much time as necessary to complete a thorough investigation. We agreed that the scope of the investigation should be aimed at getting answers to specific questions, including what efforts were made by league staff to obtain the video of what took place inside the elevator and to determine whether, in fact, the video was ever delivered to someone at the league office, and if so, what happened to the video after it was delivered.
"Mr. Mueller assured us that his investigation will be thorough and independent, and that he will keep us informed of his progress. We asked Mr. Mueller to report his conclusions to us to be shared with NFL Owners, and we agreed that his final report will be shared with the public.
"Our sole motive here is to get the truth and then share Mr. Mueller's findings with the public."
It's the latest in an ugly scandal that has Goodell under fire.
"There's a lot of heat now, and there's a lot of incompetence there, and maybe worse than incompetence, who knows how many domestic violence cases were improperly handled by Goodell and the NFL," said Harvey Levin, TMZ founder.
As outrage grows over scandal, 16 female senators--including Maryland's Barbara Mikulski--have called on the commissioner to ban a player automatically for a single domestic violence incident.
"We need someone to go in there, do a top to bottom review, make recommendations that will really have teeth and that will really institute the kind of changes that we need so that the NFL can be about football again and not about trashing women," said Terry O'Neill, National Organization for Women president.
The Ravens have denied having access to the video before the TMZ release and said even if Rice returns to the NFL it won't be in Baltimore.
Janay Rice has been supportive of her husband and criticized his indefinite suspension by the NFL.
Earlier this year, she indicated through her lawyer that she did not want the case to proceed, but prosecutor Diane Ruberton said at the time that she was confident she could have gotten a conviction at trial without the wife's participation.
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