Posts tagged SeanTaylor at FanHouse

Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office spokesman Ed Griffith says Wednesday that 16-year-old Timothy Brown is charged with first-degree murder. He is also charged with armed burglary of an occupied dwelling.

Brown also won't face the death penalty.

Currently, Brown is sitting in jail in Lee County, FL and it isn't known when he will be moved to Dade County. It has been rumored for quite some time that police were looking at a fifth suspect in the killing of Taylor, a safety for the Washington Redskins. Taylor died from massive bleeding of a gunshot wound during a robbery gone bad (when do they ever "gone good"?)

The trial for the other four accused is August 25th.

"They would have had to show it was premeditated," (Huerte's attorney Michael) Hornung said. "I believe that it's appropriate that they waive the death penalty."

The current theory of the crime, that Rivera was the alleged shooter, likely prevented prosecutors from seeking the death penalty since Rivera was a minor at the time of the shooting.

"The fact that the prosecution won't seek the death penalty has been a foregone conclusion," Taylor family spokesman Richard Sharpstein told the Fort Myers News Press. "The family is still supporting the prosecutors and looking for justice to be done."

It should make closure a bit easier, as a death penalty sentence would've made the trial a bit more trying. Since Rivera was a minor at the time of the murder, he can't get the death penalty under Florida law. The other three (who were legally adults at the time) could have been sentenced to death ... but it would have looked bad that the shooter doesn't get sent to death row but his accomplices do.

When I say "who wears #21 for the New York Giants" ... your response will most likely be retired running back Tiki Barber. Well, not anymore.

Rookie safety Kenny Phillips will be wearing that number (well, he at least was during the rookie minicamp). Interesting that the team just gives away the jersey number of their all-time rushing and receptions leader just one year after he retires. Sure, most NFL teams don't retire numbers often ... many do choose not to issue those numbers to just anyone at anytime.

However, Phillips isn't wearing it to honor or slight Tiki. He's doing it to honor fellow Miami Hurricanes safety, the late Sean Taylor.

"He was a guy who my whole career, even in high school, I had pictures of him in my locker," Phillips said. "I wanted to get a chance to meet him, and I never did. I watch him on film and he was just an exceptional athlete. The plays he made were crazy. I just wanted to pay my respects by having his number and trying to live up to that."

Awesome gesture by Phillips who could be the first of several Canes players that may do the same. Taylor was beloved by his teammates and someone that younger guys were in awe of.

Phillips, who was drafted with the final pick of the first round, will hope to become the next in a line of outstanding Miami safeties: Taylor, Baltimore's Ed Reed and New England's Brandon Meriwether.

(Hat tip: Hogs Haven)

The five finalists for the Halas Award were announced recently, with an entire team making the list. The Washington Redskins become the first team (by most accounts) to be nominated for the Halas Award ... which awards a player(s) for overcoming adversity.

The Redskins made the playoffs despite having All-Pro safety Sean Taylor murdered during the season. Washington had to play two games in a five day stretch with Sean Taylor's funeral sandwiched in between. The Redskins would win their last four games and grab the final playoff berth in the NFC. As Skin Patrol from HogsHaven said, what the Skins did was quite a feat:

The run is even more impressive viewed in context. We lost our starting quarterback (Jason Campbell) and faced an impressive run of teams, including: 1) the Vikings, in their hood, and they missed the postseason by one game, 2) the Super Bowl winning Giants, in their hood, when they could have clinched a playoff spot with a win over us, and 3) the Cowboys who were in a position to set a franchise record..

Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills tight end who has made a remarkable comeback after being paralized on a tackle in the season opener, is the other favorite to win the award. Honestly, what he's done in mere months after that scary injury is the reason the Halas Award exists.

Other nominees include the Cowboys Greg Ellis (the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year), and the Giants Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress.

''If Mr. Segovia hasn't completed his report by then, I'll find a little space for him over at the Dade County Jail,'' Murphy said. ``I hope someone can pass that on to him.''

Safety Will Demps likely will be the first free agent to meet with the Washington Redskins this year when he visits Redskin Park later this week.

Demps, 28, played his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before moving to the New York Giants in 2006 and the Houston Texans last season when he was a Pro Bowl alternate.

One of the Redskins holes is at the safety position. They need to find a guy to fill in the spot once owned by the late Sean Taylor. The 2007 first round draft pick LaRon Landry will most likely fill that role, but the team will need someone to take over next to him. Demps certainly could be that guy.

Washington used Reed Doughty last year and he played well. However, the depth at that position will most likely bolt via free agency.

Washington Redskins' tackle Chris Samuels and tight end Chris Cooley will wear the jersey #21 at next month's Pro Bowl. That was the jersey number of Sean Taylor, who was murdered last November. Taylor was also elected to the Pro Bowl. From the Redskins official site:

Cooley and Samuels each will wear a jersey with Taylor's No. 21 and their own name on the back. Cooley's regular jersey number is 47; Samuels' regular number is 60.

The jerseys that they wear in the game will be auctioned at NFL Auction with the proceeds going to the Sean Taylor Memorial Trust Fund, which was set up to benefit his daughter Jackie.

As the resident Skins' fan here at FanHouse, I must say that the last few weeks have been bliss. The capper came today when Washington beat up on Dallas, 27-6, and clinched the final playoff spot in the NFC.

Think back one month. The Redskins just lost to Tampa Bay, 19-13, in a game that saw QB Jason Campbell get picked off twice in the closing moments. The next day came word that Sean Taylor had been critically shot. He would die one day later. Washington valiantly went out and played Buffalo tough, but gave away the game late (including a dumb two-timeout call by Joe Gibbs). Four losses in a row; Six losses in eight games. The Skins were 5-7 and seemingly done.

Even then, I was pretty proud of Washington. This team lost an offensive lineman a week early on, Clinton Portis got no work in the preseason, Santana Moss was constantly dinged up and Campbell was taking on his first full season as a starting QB. Even though the Skins jumped out 5-3, most of those wins were ugly ones against bad teams. Oh, and that embarrassing 52-7 loss at New England thrown in there.