Judge hits Vick's co-defendants hard

RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal judge made clear his disdain for animal cruelty when he sentenced two of Michael Vick's dogfighting cohorts to 18 months and 21 months in prison Friday.

"You may have thought this was sporting, but it was very callous and cruel," Judge Henry Hudson told Quanis Phillips of Atlanta, who received the longer sentence.

The prison terms for Phillips and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach are a little longer than prosecutors recommended, but less than the five-year maximum Hudson could have imposed.

Vick, the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback, also faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 10 for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that operated on his 15-acre property in southeastern Virginia from 2001 until last summer.

"It's good news for Michael Vick because it shows the judge is willing to sentence within the range," said Steven Benjamin of Richmond, secretary of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for prison terms of a year to 18 months for Peace and 18 months to two years for Phillips, who has 10 prior misdemeanor convictions. Prosecutors recommended sentences at the low end of those ranges because of the co-defendants' cooperation in the government's investigation.

But Hudson, who owns a bichon frise dog, said he believed slightly tougher sentences were appropriate. Peace's sentence is at the top of the guideline range, Phillips' in the middle.

And Benjamin said Vick still could get a sentence above the negotiated range in his case -- a year to 18 months -- if Hudson concludes 27-year-old Vick is more culpable than the others because he admitting bankrolling the operation and providing gambling money.

According to court papers, Vick not only financed the "Bad Newz Kennels" but also participated in executing several underperforming dogs by drowning, hanging and other means.

Vick publicly apologized for his role in the dogfighting enterprise and turned himself in Nov. 19 to begin serving his prison term early. He is being held in a state jail in Warsaw, Va.