Joe Mixon Agrees To Plea Deal (UPDATED)
Posted on: October 30, 2014
As first reported by SoonerScoop.com, Oklahoma freshman running back Joe Mixon and his attorney have agreed to a plea deal with the Cleveland County district attorney. There will surely be much more in the way of information to follow, but for now here are the currently known details of said agreement.
Joe Mixon has reached a plea deal: 1 year deferred sentence, 100 hours community service, counseling #Sooners
— Ryan Aber (@ryaber) October 30, 2014
As a result of this agreement, Mixon’s case will obviously no longer be going to trial which was expected to begin in January 2015. However, the survelliance video of the incident that played a significant role in Oklahoma’s decision to suspend Mixon for the 2014 season is still expected to be released, although the timing of when that will be is not known at this time.
Here is a statement from Mixon’s attorney.
Statement from atty Kevin Finlay on Mixon's plea agreement. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/B530Vaco8v
— Guerin Emig (@GuerinEmig) October 30, 2014
We’ll continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: Statement from OU regarding the plea deal decision.
Statement from OU president David Boren on Joe Mixon case. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/YNzUyS2aOZ
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) October 30, 2014
UPDATE: Not sure if this means it won’t ever come out or it’s just not coming out on Monday.
Norman Assistant City Attorney Rick Knighton said Norman PD no longer has to release Mixon tape on Monday. Story coming.
— John Shinn (@john_shinn) October 30, 2014
– UPDATE: Looks as though based on the latest information available the tape may not be released.
Plea was reached. City atty returned tape to Pickleman's (owner). OKC TV outlet sought tape thru Pickleman's, was told it would be destroyed
— Guerin Emig (@GuerinEmig) October 30, 2014
City attys office then sent notice there was threat of litigation, so retained a copy in litigation file. That's not subj to open records.
— Guerin Emig (@GuerinEmig) October 30, 2014
If no lawsuit is filed regarding release of video, city atty suspects his office's copy(in litigation file) will be returned to Pickleman's.
— Guerin Emig (@GuerinEmig) October 30, 2014
83 Comments
https://twitter.com/NateHeupel/status/527848777814519808
Yes, essentially admitting that the state has enough evidence to convict but still asserting innocence, right?
correct.
Get ready for the return of the “never hit a female” discussion for the next 2 days.
It will be WAY longer than 2 days if the video is released publicly on Monday as I’ve seen rumored.
I believe you are correct on that assessment.
Oh ok I thought it might get released by tomorrow but if it is Monday you are right.
That’s only what I’ve seen rumored, like I said. Definitely don’t know that to be a fact right now.
Everyone might want to consider a switch to decaf for a while, when it comes out… 🙂
I hope that when the tape is released the media will show the WHOLE incident and not just show Joe striking the woman. That may be a pipe dream, but I hope that happens.
Well, according to the media members that saw the tape already, thats all there really is to it. Apparently it all happened pretty quick and it is not favorable to Joe. Can’t wait to see it for myself to see if that is the truth.
I would hope there is some footage of the girl provoking the attack, just to show some responsibility for the whole situation belongs to her. That is not to excuse Joe from his responsibility for his actions, in which there really is no excuse to strike a woman.
As I recall, some one who saw the video said she initiated contact by calling Joe over to her.
Should a woman ever hit a man?
Other than in an act of self-defense I’d say definitely not. But I realize we live in a world w/ grey areas & I’m also not looking to get into a philosophical or morality debate on this subject, so I’ll just end things there.
Don’t remember the girl’s name that instigated this fiasco, but may all her teeth save one fall out and she suffers with a life long toothache.
Let’s be better than this, please.
She deserves more ridicule than Joe.
Still let’s not be tempted to go down the wrong road. Go High not low.
I strongly support justice and I see none in this situation. Not from the DA or the way the NPD handled this.
That a drunk with a lengthy criminal record who had an outstanding arrest warrant can instigate all this and walk away from it while Joe gets punished is not justice and is infuriating.
Joe hit a woman, period. The ONLY possible mitigating circumstance would be if she had a weapon of some sort. As far as I’m concerned he’s extremely fortunate to still be enrolled in college and not in prison.
I’ve been slapped and punched by a woman more than one time and I walked away. Difference is, I knew those women. If a stranger of a different gender walked up to me intoxicated, acting crazy and proceeded to take a swing, I can’t honestly say that I would consider gender at that exact moment in time.
LOL, I got sucker punched by a drunk girl once while I was playing pool in a bar. I guess I looked like her ex-boyfriend and she was too wasted to know the difference. Honestly, I was too surprised to do anything. I just tried to back away but she got in a couple of good body blows before her friends pulled her off me. At no point did it cross my mind to hit her back though. The point is, no matter what the situation is, you need to have the good instincts not to hit a girl especially if you’re a 6’1″ 215lb athlete. There will be no way that that will turn out okay.
Is “provocation” an aggravating or mitigating circumstance?
No, any reasonable person would agree not to hit a woman, but we are talking about a young man who less than 24hrs before this was 17yoa and was having his buttons pushed by a self-proclaimed trouble maker.
As for his being in prison, that would have meant he went to trial (which is what I would have done), that he had been charged with a more serious crime and he had a criminal record.
OTH, she should have been arrested for the warrant on her when she was released from the hospital and her parole revoked for public intoxication.
This entire fiasco was handled badly by the NPD.
Nothing about her matters. I don’t understand why that doesn’t register with anyone here. Yes, it may have mattered in the strict interpretation of the law, but as a man and the father of 3 daughters it doesn’t matter to me at all. She isn’t a member of our football team. Her circumstances have nothing to do with what type of young man Joe is. I want to cheer for him. I sincerely wish the best for him and want him to succeed. None of this changes the fact that he should not have struck a woman.
It doesn’t matter to you.
I have daughters and grand daughters and it does matter to me. I was in law enforcement for a number of years and unfortunately was involved with many domestic disturbance calls. In many, many instances the woman was the instigator and aggressor.
So I don’t understand why her actions and criminal history don’t register with you, especially since she is not receiving any punishment and he is.
Joe has stated he “messed up” and most men would not have reacted as he did, but I also understand how a disturbed individual can incite people into doing things they would never have under different circumstances.
I agree, but this is a tar baby no one should mess with.
99% of the glass houses on the internet would have done the same thing in the same situation. The I wouldn’t put myself in that situation argument carries no weight when said person is 48 and he is 18. The no woman or girl ever deserves to get punched carries hardly any weight when gold diggers, weapons and just plain ignorance get involved. Just my opinion
I disagree, I know myself and many others who would not have done anything similar to what Mixon did. I also know people who would have reacted similar, I think your 99% number is just incredibly high.
ok. i’ll admit that. i’m not saying i would have either. i just don’t know cause i wasn’t there to know how it exactly played out. i have a bit of a temper but i would like to think i wouldn’t act in such a way. i just can’t get fully on board with throwing stones at just joe. this broad didn’t seem like a sweetie from the beginning and i think she had a warrant out and skipped town and this young man “manned” up and didn’t run
Please tell me what her being a “broad” or being less than innocent has to do with anything? She had no weapon that I’m aware of and it’s past time for us to stop defending his actions. He. Hit. A. Woman.
i’m just throwing out examples of stuff. why? because i wasn’t there. if rhonda rousey ran her mouth and then later punched me, i would probly feel compelled to do something back. how would that turn out? probly not too good for the home team. now, you will say “well that’s rhonda rousey”. well, how do we know how tough this chick is, what sort of tiger style jujitsu she knows. we know she’s a turd and had a warrant out or whatever. maybe she’s picked up some mortal kombat moves along the way. all we know is joe got crap talked to him and then punched. is violence for violence cool? not necessarily. i just don’t like when people who do bad things or worse things than this start saying joe needs to go and stuff like that, maybe some need to look in the mirror. and i’ve said 99% of people would do the same or whatever. i don’t know what that # is but when someone flat out says “i would never do that”, you don’t know because you’ve probly never been in that exact situation. that’s my point. not really trying to defend someone. just trying to get a full story before i wanna lynch someone and break out the pitchforks
I don’t want to lynch anyone either. I want Joe to be successful. But nothing you said changes the notion that as men we shouldn’t strike a woman. Nothing I have read or heard about the situation leads me to believe Joe was justified in striking this particular woman. It was wrong. Mr Mixon is incredibly fortunate and we as fans will continue to be painted in a poor light arguing for a lesser punishment or whining about the punishment he did receive.
he got punished. its over. he got what he deserved, i think. did she? maybe, maybe not. i don’t know her, i don’t know her mental makeup, i don’t know her mental state at the time. all i do know is she ran her mouth and messed with the bull and got the horns. the kid has been punished and now i’m glad the video won’t see the light of day…let’s be done with it. as with the rhonda rousey argument…if you don’t know her, you can’t say whether he should or shouldn’t have hit her(defended himself). everything is hearsay if you weren’t there or don’t know anything about the situation. just because its a girl, does not mean she is immune from a good whuppin. he’ll learn from this, will she?
The walking away theory is dumb and I think a lot of people 40 years + just grew up in a different time. Society is trying to change the “boys will be boys” mentality while basically allowing women to get away with murder and obviously the prettier they are, the more society will allow.
I agree with you 100 percent in florida where i live we have the stand your ground law you don’t have to flee when somebody uses force and she hit him first that mean’s you can and not flee
Not true. I know several guys that have been slapped by women, that didn’t proceed to land a hay maker to said women’s faces. That just wasn’t necessary.
Nice strawman. Not the situation.
How so?
I believe she yelled at Mixon. Then shoved Mixon. Then slapped Mixon. If I am misremembering those facts, please correct me. I don’t consider a slap and a punch/hit the same thing.
maybe he watched chris rock before he went out that night
It’s true you should never hit a woman but she is no angel he never should have been charged she hit him first in my book that is self defense that simple
Not many people know the true meaning of self defense. Self defense is being backed into a corner and there is no way out. Then you are allowed to defend yourself. He had plenty of room to back away from the situation.
Self defense is not because you hit me that means I can hit you. That is a fight. And they both should have been guilty.
This. Self defense isn’t a college athlete throwing a full punch at a girl’s face. He could have gotten away. Or he could have responded more reasonably. His safety was never at risk.
Read what i sent soonerborn you are wrong legally my friend
What does Florida law have to do with anything?
And I’m not sure stand your ground has anything to do with a fist fight amongst strangers at a bar. But even if the law somehow applies, I never said Mixon had a legal responsibility to walk away. I simply said it was an option for him. And it would have been an option for him in Florida, too.
Just wrong. that is not the law. No duty to flee. Was it excessive response? yea probably.
You just hit on the big one. it absolutely was a fight and if she had been charged it would have been REALLY bad for her.
We have gender based treatment and that runs contrary to the OK law as it is written.
I live in florida and we have the stand your ground law if you hit me in florida i don’t have to flee sorry my friend
Or a child, or produce blood in an altercation.
An old man told be once (very respected) “I would never hit a lady…but I would knock the hell out of b%$&#!!!” just sayin….everybody has their own personal, cultural and societal compasses… Time to move on now… I personally believe in karma (meaning a person’s behavior can not be hidden especially if it is an ingrained part of their character) and whoever was in the cosmic wrong…will repeat the wrong to a higher degree much to their own detriment.
Good for the young man, a (unfair, IMO) lesson learnt that sometimes the law’s messed up. Avoid distractions, get a great education and a long productive career toting the rock for us.
Wish I would have seen “dismissed” and “deferred adjudication” after completing the probation. Since the girl involved skated I would like to see this charge against him “expunged.”
Agree with you 100 precent she is no angel
The charge can be expunged eventually because he got a deferred. If it was a suspended sentence, it could not have been expunged.
1) think he still is under the threat of a civil suit if she so chooses
2) does he still have to deal with any school ‘code of conduct’ issues, I don’t recall
fwiw:
https://twitter.com/NateHeupel/status/527854364950401024
Except the standard of liability in a civil case is much lower than the what is required to be convicted in a criminal case. She could definitely choose to sue for assault and battery, and if a jury (or judge) finds that he is 51% culpable, then she wins.
can you explain the difference between what you’re saying and what the nate heupel tweet says, please?
Sure. In a nutshell, he’s basically saying that his plea can’t be used as an admission of liability in a future civil suit and that the affirmative defense of self-defense is available to him, as well. I’m simply pointing out that it’s much less difficult to be found civilly liable, which only requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence (greater than 50%), as opposed to guilty of a crime, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt (somewhere near 90-100%) and is a MUCH higher legal burden.
cool. i went to school for sports but pre law and criminal justice were my majors in jc and 4 yr. learned alot but obviously not enough. thanks for the easy to read break down for us dummies. i appreciate it
I’m more concerned with the “never hit a QB” issue that’s going on with the D right now.
ya, hopefully we don’t give another mediocre QB his best performance of the season.
Interesting as well as some articles spin that the girl had “4 broken face bones” was this ever proven i.e medical reports,Doctor evaluation etc im just curious to know cause in all the incidents i never see where the female went and got medical attn?
So tired of hearing about this and the same arguments over and over. Release the damn video and let everyone get over it.
The sooner the video comes out, the sooner this whole thing can be forgotten.
Assuming that girl isn’t enrolled at OU any longer?
If she is smart she is enrolled in rehab!
Whats the difference between an alford plea, and pleading no contest? No contest does not admit guilt either.
I believe the alford plea allows his record to be clean after he meets all his probationary requirements.
so does a no contest. I pleaded no contest to a charge years ago and had it expunged off my record.
If I was at OU now I would spend all my extra time hunting down the bitch that caused it!!!
then you’re a loser
If I recall correctly after she was hit, she hit a table. How much of the damage was due to her hitting the table and how much of her falling into the table had to do with the amount of liquid courage she had ingested?
Not sure it would matter in a court of law as it was all a result of a single action.
Wasn’t using this a defense in court, was just curious.
I work as a federal prosecutor, which may be a tad different than what they do in the state system, but for us an Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty to the crime while still denying committing the crime (it comes from a Supreme Court case in 1970). A Nolo Contendre “No-Contest” plea allows a defendant to be convicted and sentenced without admitting guilt. In doing so he concedes that the government would win if it went to trial but doesn’t have to admit his guilt. We never agree to them in the federal system. The main difference between an Alford plea and a No-Contest plea is that a no-contest plea cannot be used against you in another proceeding, but an Alford plea can.
appreciate the insight
Thank you for the info!!!
If it’s not time consuming, can u explain what are the chances of Mixon being tried in a civil court? And what is the “worse case scenario?”
Multiple updates added to the post above.
I hope all copies of the video are destroyed, no good could come out of its release. The whole situation just needs to be put in the past, punishment has been laid out and accepted.
Ditto Ray!!!!
And hopefully JM learns from this, and walks away the next time.
Quite the wake up call for a kid that age- he should parlay this into going ultra-beast mode as a student and as an athlete.
So joe gets suspended the entire year for a misdemeanor. For something he didn’t instigate, to me sounds like David Boren threw him under the buss. Dean would say 90% chance joe does his 200 hrs and transfers in the spring and I wouldn’t blame him, a good kid made a decision instantly, maybe he should’ve waited till she grabbed a bottle I don’t know I’ve never been in a situation like that. But I do have 6 daughters!! And our policy is never swing first, but swing last.