On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia handed down an indictment against Michael Vick. The indictment alleges some of the most inhumane behavior imaginable, and if Vick is found guilty, I’m rooting for serious time.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I’m a dog owner and dog lover. You may also have picked up that I am pretty big fan of animals generally.

On a philosophical level, I believe strongly that the way we treat animals reflects our humanity or lack thereof. It also reveals, I think, the central truths of our individual natures.

Vick and his cohorts allegedly conspired to create a criminal enterprise dedicated to and premised on animal cruelty. According to the indictment, Vick purchased the property in Surry County, Virginia with the explicit notion in mind of training and fighting dogs. He allegedly abused his own dogs, killing puppies by drowning, hanging and beating on more than one occasion. He and his co-conspirators allegedly went to great lengths to turn the most aggressive and energetic puppies from lovable balls of fur, intent only on their next meal and curling up with their litter mates, into hyper-aggressive, fighting machines bent on destruction and death.

What does this say about Michael Vick, assuming, with caution against committing libel in mind, that he committed the acts directed at him in the indictment?

To me, it suggests that he is a cruel and violent person who holds little value for life. The conspiracy which he allegedly led suggests that he is willing to go to extremes in premeditation and planning to carry out wanton acts of cruelty and violence. To me, this is precisely the kind of person who ought to be removed from society and set behind bars.

UPDATE: On this morning’s Mike & Mike show on ESPN radio, former University of Kentucky football coach Bill Curry summed it up succinctly. Assuming the allegations are true, he said, “This is about killing. Period.”

Jim: My thought on Vick after reading some articles is an incredulous bewhilderment at the ingratitude demonstrated in Vick’s actions.

You’re probably going, “Huh?” Let me explain. We all are given gifts in this life, some more obvious than others. Vick has been blessed with extraordinary athletic ability. He’s given a chance to play not just the most popular sport in the country, professional football, but a chance to be a leader of men, the face of a franchise, the opportunity to become a legend as a quarterback. He’s playing in a sports-crazy part of the country, with a fan base eager to see him succeed. He has achieved financial security in a way few of us can imagine with his contracts and numerous endorsement deals with some of the biggest companies in the country - Coca-Cola, EA Sports, Kraft Foods, Hasbro, AirTran. Nike puts together a commercial called “The Michael Vick Experience,” explicitly declaring to the world, he is not merely a player, but a phenomenon.

And how does he spend his free time? Allegedly training and watching dogs kill each other.

To invert Churchill’s grateful comment at the Battle of Britain, never has so much been so squandered on one ingrate.

If he’s guilty, I’ve got a simple sentence: Fight one of those abused dogs.