Posted on Tue, May. 13, 2008

NFL NOTEBOOK

NFL notes | No death penalty for suspects in Taylor case

Associated Press

MIAMI --

A prosecutor said Monday he will not seek the death penalty against four people charged with murdering Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor because the accused shooter was a minor when the crime was committed.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that people cannot be executed for crimes committed when they're under 18, and it's a well-established legal principle that others involved in the same case as a minor cannot face the ultimate penalty if they are less directly responsible.

Assistant State Attorney Reid Rubin filed notice Friday that the death penalty will be waived. That means the four suspects could get a maximum of life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder after a trial scheduled to begin Aug. 25.

Eric Rivera Jr., who turned 18 last month, was 17 at the time police say he shot Taylor during a botched robbery at the Pro Bowl safety's Miami-area home in November. Taylor, 24, died of massive blood loss after he was shot in the upper leg.

Elsewhere

CHICAGO:Robbie Gould became the highest-paid kicker, agreeing to a five-year, $15.5 million contract extension that includes a $4.25 million signing bonus. The deal runs through 2013.

His new deal trumps the five-year, $14.2 million contract Josh Brown signed with St. Louis on March 1.

DALLAS: Get your popcorn ready: Terrell Owens is coming to prime time Wednesday night. As an actor.

T.O. will make his sitcom acting debut on the MyNetworkTV show "Under One Roof" as the long-lost brother of the show's star, Flavor Flav.

NEW ENGLAND: Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh will meet separately with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Sen. Arlen Specter today to discuss New England's videotaping of opposing coaches' play-calling signals in violation of league rules.

Walsh is scheduled to meet with Goodell at the NFL offices in New York at 7:30 a.m. Afterward, he will travel to Washington to meet with Specter. Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been critical of the NFL's handling of the investigation.

Goodell and Specter each plan to hold a news conference after meeting with Walsh.