Richard Cohen has a confusing column that, if I read it right, argues that Michael Vick shouldn't be allowed to return to the NFL because of the horror of his crimes, or perhaps that the NFL is a corrupt institution because it would allow Vick to play again were he a better player. Vick's crimes were horrible, and yes, the wealth of the modern professional sports is corrupting. But despite all that, Vick has every right to play in the NFL should he find a team to hire him. I say so because Vick has paid his debt to society. He faced the U.S. justice system and emerged bankrupt after 23 months in jail. Cohen sneers at the notion that Vick's punishment was enough, but I can't find the sentence in his column where he criticizes the judge who handed down Vick's sentence, or the prosecutors who indicted him. That's because it's not there. As far as I can tell, Cohen doesn't think the justice system failed. He just thinks that the NFL and the rest of the public should act as a kind of extra-judicial vigilante squad, continuing to shame and ostracize Vick long after the government -- the official organ of public justice -- has determined that Vick's punishment has come to an end. That's a shame. In the sense that it encourages punishment beyond what a judge metes out, it's similar to denying ex-felons the right to vote. The point of a fair public justice system is that no matter who a person may be -- rich or poor, black or white -- they are measured up to the statutes and dealt with appropriately, not judged capriciously by the whims of public opinion. Ideally, they face both punishment and rehabilitation: The point is to start with a criminal and end up with a productive member of society, with all the rights and privileges accorded to a citizen. That process is the expression of public justice, not whatever standards Washington Post columnists may set. Our justice system is not perfect, of course, and if Cohen has a problem with Vick's sentence -- again, he doesn't mention one -- he needs to identify the problems with those who executed the laws or those who wrote them, not urge the NFL to somehow act as an arbiter of public moral authority.
-- Tim Fernholz
