Recently, many people have been at odds with whether or not Mike Vick should be allowed back into the NFL to continue his career. Animal activists have seen his re-entry to the NFL as a slap in the face. I do agree that what Michael Vick did was heinous and far beneath the expectations of an NFL superstar with such unmatched talent. But I disagree. Michael Vick is still a human being that deserves a second chance at being a benefit to our society.

We must also not throw out the baby with the bath water. When he was convicted of dog fighting and evicted from the NFL, his life was not the only one destroyed. Those that earned a living because of his talent were also affected. Let's not forget about those people. Those are the people who were hit with friendly fire and whose employment also suffered. There's never one victim of a crime!

Let's keep in mind that he did the crime and served his time. Let's be careful not to turn Vick into the victim. Let's take a brief look into history. Tupac Shakur, Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson were all convicted of raping women, a crime I find to be one of the worst. You murder a soul but leave the victim alive to deal with the atrocity. NFL player Ray Lewis was present with a friend when he stabbed a man to death in Atlanta. And our latest, Chris Brown was convicted of battery against female songstress Rihanna. Ray Lewis nor Chris Brown served one day in prison or lost the opportunity to continue their careers.

All of these men were allowed to continue the pursuit of their career after causing harm to another human being - most of them women. We cannot possibly believe that the life of a dog trumps the life and safety of women. Are we literally saying that a dog is a man's best friend? Aren't women more of a companion than dogs?

For centuries, we have become the judge and jury of people. We extend more mercy to animals simply because of their perception of innocence but forget about the value of human life. The average animal is a much greater survivor than the average human. They can survive for years without the help of another animal. Humans can't. This means, we must not forget that we are interdependent beings who succeed because of one another. Humans may have the capability to kill but we also have the capability to construct. We still remain stewards of the Earth and children of the Creator. When one of us becomes aberrant, yes, punishment is in order but so is forgiveness. As soon as we are able to understand how valuable forgiveness is to the evolution of humans, we will understand how valuable our lives and livelihoods really are.

St. Thomas native Devin "Dutchie" Robinson is a six-time author and columnist. He can be reached at www.devinrobinson.com.