I got curious so I looked up the sentencing guidelines for dog fighting. Fed and State. Most are in the 3-5 year range but that doesn't mean that judges have to sentence the max and most don't. At the time of Vick's arrest the max Fed sentence was 1 year which he received along with 11 months for a interstate commerce charge.
Like it or not he did his time. Do I condone his actions NO but there are a lot of actions I don't condone
As far as hero figures
Michael Irvin: caught with cocaine made the HOF and still working on TV
Sammy Sosa: cheating and drug use
Lance Armstrong: jury still out on him
Tiger Woods:
and many more.
Why no mention of any of these fallen athletes? But many posts on Vick?