Ray Rice wouldn’t have faced jail time if the assault case against him had gone to trial, according to the Jim McClain, the prosecutor in the case. In an interview with The Press of Atlantic City, McClain said due to the law, the harshest punishment Rice could have received is a probationary sentence.
Ray Rice never would have gone to jail, prosecutor says
“Even if they disagree with why I did what I did, I just want people to know the decision was made after careful consideration of the law, careful consideration of the of facts, hearing the voice of the victim and considering all the parameters,” he said of why he chose to speak out. “I want people to have confidence in this agency, even if they don’t agree with everything we do.”
McClain’s said Rice was never going to face jail time no matter the outcome of the verdict. Instead, Rice faced either a pre-trial intervention or probation. Given the choice to drag the matter out over the course of several months or wrap it up ahead of time with a PTI, McClain said the prosecution decided to forgo the trial for the sake of Janay Rice.
“It’s not fair to the victim to put her through that when that was the difference,” said McClain.
McClain also noted Rice would have been able to clear the assault from his permanent record even if probation was given, which would have likely been set at two years. The case was thrust back into the national spotlight when TMZ released elevator video of the assault. How TMZ obtained the video remains unclear, but McClain said he does not think a crime was committed. According to the report, it appears a former employee of the casino leaked the video. If that doesn’t prove to be the case, there could be consequences.
“If I found out that anyone in this office did that, they’d be fired immediately because that’s not what we do,” McClain said.
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