Posted: May 20, 2009, 3:15 p.m. EDT
Michael Vick’s time in jail for financing a dogfighting ring has come to an end.
The former NFL quarterback has been released from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan. After serving 21 months in prison, he’s now about to start serving two months of home confinement with an electronic monitoring device at his five-bedroom home in Hampton, Va.
Vick, 28, was released early Wednesday morning and was joined by his fiancée. He did not speak to reporters who had camped out at the prison, the Daily Press of Newport News, Va., reported.
News of his release fueled speculation about whether Vick would be allowed to return to the NFL – whether it’s with his former team the Atlanta Falcons or on a different team – after being convicted of bankrolling a dogfighting operation. According to the Humane Society of the United States, Vick has met with the organization’s leader, Wayne Pacelle, to discuss Vick’s interest in working with the group on its anti-dogfighting campaign.
The NFL suspended Vick for his role in the “Bad Newz Kennels,” the dogfighting ring based on property that he owned in Surry County, Va. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison in December 2007, after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge.
For more on the Michael Vick dogfighting case, click here.
Watch a video on the fighting dogs' recovery.