National Football League

Prosecutor defends his office's handling of Ray Rice's case

Published Sep. 10, 2014 9:19 p.m. ET

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A New Jersey prosecutor has defended his office's handling of the Ray Rice case and says allowing him into a pretrial intervention program was done after careful consideration.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain tells the Press of Atlantic City he wanted to clear up misinformation and restore trust in his agency.

He says Rice wouldn't have faced jail time if he had gone to trial on third-degree aggravated assault charges after he punched his then-fiancee and knocked her unconscious.

State lawmakers have asked for a review of the decision to allow Rice into the diversion program.

McClain says his office considered the law, the facts and heard from the victim.

Guidelines for the program note that those charged with deliberately committing violence ''should generally be rejected.''

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