MANHATTAN — Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is looking to tackle former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress's bid to score a spot in a work-release program.
Burress was sentenced to two years in prison after he shot himself in the leg at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan, but just two months into his sentence on gun charges, the ex-Giant wants out. Morgenthau's office has vowed to fight the work-release application.
"The law-enforcement community worked at length to ensure tough sentences for gun possession," Mark Dwyer, chief assistant to the DA, told the New York Post.
"If a defendant who has agreed to serve two years' prison is very quickly released on work furlough, it will send the wrong message," Dwyer said.
Prison officials said they could reach a decision next month, the Daily News reported.
Burress is serving a two-year sentence for illegal gun possession following a November 2008 incident where he accidentally shot himself. He applied for the work-release program before Thanksgiving, the News reported.
The prison's program pre-approves a place of employment for inmates and allows them to sleep at home from one to seven days a week, according to the Post.
Burress helped lead the Giants to a 2008 Super Bowl victory, but was dropped from the team in April.
