NFL's Chris Jones Wants to Pay $1.5M to Free Woman Who Stole Chicken Wings from Prison. Is This Possible? (Exclusive)

A week after the Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle tweeted his offer to pay for the stolen chicken wings, PEOPLE breaks down the legalities

Just before an Illinois judge sentenced Vera Liddell to nine years in prison for stealing $1.5 million of chicken wings from the school district where she worked, the 68-year-old woman told her lawyer: “My fate is in God’s hands.”

A short time later, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones tweeted out his viral offer: “I’ll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free.”

The Super Bowl winner’s proposal — which his representatives confirmed first to PEOPLE — seemed the miracle the cafeteria consultant was looking for.

But, as it turns out — while theoretically possible — there are significant hurdles to springing Liddell from prison.

Related: NFL Star Chris Jones Offers to Pay for $1.5 Million Worth of Stolen Chicken Wings After Cafeteria Worker Is Sentenced

“This is not Monopoly,” Liddell’s lawyer, Patrick O’Byrne, tells PEOPLE. “You don’t pay to get out of the penitentiary in Cook County, Illinois.”

In a set of interviews, PEOPLE spoke with Liddell’s lawyers to determine the step-by-step process of getting the now-convicted felon – with no previous criminal record and a documented gambling problem and history of bankruptcy – out from behind bars.

Liddell – who was initially charged with one count of continuing financial crimes enterprise and one count of theft of more than $1 million, per the court clerk – has admitted to stealing 11,000 cases of chicken wings, which were purchased between July 2020 and February 2022, under the pretense that the food would go to underprivileged children who were then receiving free lunches during the pandemic shutdown, according to her other lawyer, Gregory LaPapa. She gambled away the proceeds of the false orders, adds O’Byrne.

“She’s just a little sweetheart that’s got a gambling problem,” O’Byrne says, adding: “She feels beyond terrible about this. This is totally uncharacteristic of her. It was the disease taking over.”

Related: Woman Stole $1.5M in Chicken Wings to Fund Gambling Addiction, Lawyer Says

On Friday, Aug. 9, Liddell took a plea deal, knocking off the first charge and guaranteeing her a nine-year sentence for the remaining Class X felony, which can carry as much as 30 years behind bars.

In accordance with state law, Liddell’s lawyers have 30 days from her sentencing – that’s Sunday, Sept. 8 – to file a motion to vacate her earlier guilty plea. "The clock is ticking,” LaPapa says.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

That filing could then lead to a court hearing in which her lawyers would go in front of Associate Judge Michele M. Pitman – who is overseeing the case – to explain why they want to withdraw the guilty plea, thereby taking the nine-year plea deal off the table and starting over.

“But that doesn’t solve the problem,” says O’Byrne, adding that Liddell’s status as an inmate of the Illinois Department of Corrections further complicates matters.

While the judge can find someone guilty or not guilty, she cannot reduce the charges, meaning that Liddell – who days after her sentencing was admitted into the custody of Logan Correctional Center as Y64916 on Wednesday Aug. 14 – is “still stuck” in prison as an accused felon, according to O’Byrne.

Only the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office can reduce the charges they initially filed against her.

And then, of course: “Chris Jones has to be there with a checkbook,” LaPapa adds.

PEOPLE reached out to state prosecutors, as well as Judge Pitman, but they did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The good news?

“I’m sure the school district would love to get the money,” says O’Byrne, adding: “So if Vera Liddell‘s guardian angel, Chris Jones, is willing to pay restitution, the state may consider that in resentencing her.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.