Ray Rice Case Dismissed: Former Baltimore Raven’s Domestic Violence Charges Dismissed By Judge

Ray Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens running back who was caught on camera knocking his then-fiancée unconscious and dragging her body out of an elevator has just had his domestic violence case dismissed by Atlantic County Judge Michael Donio.

County Prosecutor James McClain presented Judge Donio with the dismissal, and informed the judge that Rice had indeed completed his pretrial intervention, as per the terms of the case’s dismissal.

“I was just presented with a dismissal order from Prosecutor McClain — which means that Ray Rice has successfully completed all of his terms and conditions of his PTI — therefore based on the Prosecutors recommendation I will be signing Mr. Rice’s dismissal of his case today,” the judge wrote in an email.

Part of the pretrial intervention included Rice paying a $125 fine and completing anger management courses. Upon successful completion of the program, Rice’s third-degree charge of aggravated assault would be dismissed, and while the arrest itself will remain on Rice’s record, there will be no conviction.

The three-time Pro-Bowler was initially suspended from the NFL for two games following the release of a first video which showed Rice dragging his unconscious wife (fiancée at the time) Janay Rice out of the elevator. However, the case blew up when TMZ released a second video that actually showed Rice punching his wife in the face. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then suspended Rice indefinitely.

In December, Rice appealed his suspension, and a neutral arbitrator reinstated him, and though he has been free to sign with another team since his reinstatement, and despite his repeated apologies for what he did, he has yet to receive any interest from NFL teams.

Though Ray was charged with third-degree assault after the incident in Atlantic City’s Revel Casino Hotel, his attorney, Michael Diamondstein, chalked the occurrence up to “little more than a misunderstanding,” and told ESPN’s Adam Caplan Thursday that his client had completed his pretrial program, which would ultimately lead to Ray’s case being dismissed.

Should Ray Rice’s case have been dismissed? Do you, dear readers, feel as though he has been truly sincere in his apologies over the incident, or is this just another case of a celebrity getting away with something a civilian would have been tried and convicted for? What about how the victim, Janay Rice, feels? Should the judge have taken her feelings on the situation into consideration when deciding whether to dismiss the case or not?

[Image Credit: CTV News]