New York Giant Kicker Lawrence Tynes

[ScriptOhio]

.....interesting article on New York Giants kicker Lawerence Tynes and his brother Mark.

Brothers' bond stays true despite trying circumstances
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Lawrence Tynes was rewarded handsomely for that perseverance: a Super Bowl ring, an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman," a trip to Disney World and, most recently, a five-year, $7 million contract.
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In January 2004, based largely on the testimony of his friends, Mark Tynes was found guilty on two counts of marijuana distribution. Based partly on his criminal history, he was sentenced to 324 months, or 27 years, in federal prison. His release date is in 2026.
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Does Lawrence ever think back to that tight group of brothers and think, given different circumstances, that could have been him sitting in jail sometime past his 50th birthday?
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully. "I totally do."
In his phone interview from prison, Mark Tynes was asked the difference between himself and Lawrence.
"Four inches and one year of age," he quickly joked.
Several days later, with emotion in his voice, he told his father the answer.
"I made all the wrong decisions," Mark Tynes said, "and Lawrence made all the right ones."

Entire article: ESPN - Brothers' bond stays true despite trying circumstances - NFL


Outside the Lines

Sunday on "Outside the Lines," writer Greg Garber and producer Ben Houser explore how brothers Mark and Lawrence Tynes made different choices in life -- and how those choices landed them in dramatically different places. Watch "Outside the Lines" Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (ET).

 

[ScriptOhio]

Giants kicker hopes to use fame to shorten drug-dealing sibling's jail term

Mark Tynes, the brother of Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes (below), is serving a 27-year federal prison sentence at Forrest City Correctional Complex in Arkansas.

Giants kickerLawrence Tynes wants one more unlikely victory in this Super Bowl year - and he's hoping the Bush administration can make it happen.
Tynes, the hero of the NFC title game, seeks a White House order freeing his jailed brother Mark, a convicted drug trafficker doing 27 years.
Lawrence Tynes acknowledges his older brother's guilt but believes the sentence is overly harsh.
"The situation that Mark found himself in was partly due to his own mistakes," says newly hired lawyer Robert Ortiz, point man for the effort.
"We have to make sure that what we submit is accurate and explains Mark's position and why we believe the sentence is excessive."
Ortiz, the finance chairman for the New Jersey Republican State Committee, donated $2,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign in 2004, public finance records show.
And it can't hurt that Bush singled Lawrence Tynes out when he hosted the world champions on the White House lawn, citing the clutch kick to beat Green Bay and send the Giants to the Super Bowl.
"Lawrence Tynes, who's with us here, came through with a 47-yard field goal in overtime," Bush said. "You know, I knew you were going to make it."
"I did," Tynes replied.
Lawyers for his 31-year-old brother exhausted all their appeals, leaving the Justice Department's pardon attorney office as the last legal Hail Mary to free Mark Tynes.
The pardon office helps the President sift through clemency applications. Mark Tynes hopes for an early release or a sentence reduction.
Two factors are working against him: Bush has granted very few pardons or commutations.
"This President has virtually ignored this power," said Prof. Dan Kobil, a pardon process expert at Capital University Law School in Columbus. "He's by far the stingiest pardoner."
Second - and more problematic - is Mark Tynes' criminal history.
He was saddled with a prior felony drug charge before his 2004 conviction as kingpin of a syndicate that transported 3,600 pounds of marijuana between Texas and Florida.
Mark Tynes refused to cooperate with prosecutors - and his sentence was extended from 151 months to 324 months over allegations of witness intimidation.
Without presidential help, Tynes isn't scheduled to leave prison until November 2026.
Ortiz, who plans to submit the paperwork for a commutation next week, said he doesn't think Mark Tynes will benefit from the President's well-documented sports mania.
But he's hopeful Lawrence Tynes' notoriety can help.
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Entire article: Giants kicker hopes to use fame to shorten drug-dealing sibling's jail term

In my opinion, the president should not give any pardons to violent criminals and/or drug dealers, etc.