April 19, 2017

"Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit."

"Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window...."
[Aaron] Hernandez was not on a suicide watch because there was no indication he wanted to harm himself. Corrections officers found him when they were doing a regular hourly round in the unit. There are no reports of a suicide note....

43 comments:

David said...

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

dreams said...

It's bad for his family who might love him but ultimately, it's a good thing.

tim in vermont said...

I have been sort of hooked on "A Football Life" that is a series of biographical documentaries on great NFL players. When you see the kind of adversity so many of these men have overcome in their life, the violent backgrounds that so many of them came from, absent, or abusive fathers, often raised in poverty by single mothers. Curtis Martin cried during his Hall of Fame speech and talked about how his father burned his mother with cigarettes in front of him as a small boy, for example. After watching a few of these, one becomes a lot more sympathetic to these guys.

rehajm said...

Yesterday he was looking like freakin' OJ so decides to hang himself. Right.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I find utilizing worse than garnering.

traditionalguy said...

Ah ha. He was an existentialist committing the only act of human freedom. He rejected Tim Tebow's way of life, and ended up on the only other way.

tim in vermont said...

Some people utilize the thesaurus to garner class.

MadisonMan said...

Total agreement with Ignorance is Bliss.

Use and Using are perfectly good, short words.

Utilize is used by weirdos applying for a License for the pet fish Eric.

Wince said...

Reminds me how they used to define an amoeba in Biology class.

A single cell with no brain.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

tim in vermont said...
Curtis Martin cried during his Hall of Fame speech and talked about how his father burned his mother with cigarettes in front of him as a small boy, for example. After watching a few of these, one becomes a lot more sympathetic to these guys.


I would question whether football does these guys any favors in the long run. They are just fresh meat for the sausage factory, similar to models. And, like models, they end up broke and drug addled more often than not. What looks like an escape only amplifies their problems.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

"I find utilizing worse than garnering."

Agreed. Better news-writing would be "with the usage of."

Writers who value simple and effective communication would say "using."

Laslo Spatula said...

Late Night In a Prison Cell...

Aaron: Leaven me alone!

Devil: Oh, Aaron. You should be used to my visits by now...

Aaron: Fuck you. I was just keeping it Real...

Devil: Oh, I know about keeping it Real. I keep it Real with a LOT of people...

Aaron: Then go fuck with them for awhile.

Devil: But I LIKE hanging out with you, Aaron. It'd be more fun if we were still cruising in your Sweet Ride, but those days are over...

Aaron: No big deal. I'm good with the Thug Life. Shit happens.

Devil: I don't know. Is it me, or does this cell seem smaller? Like the walls are closing in, maybe...

Aaron: Don't start with that shit. I'm fine.

Devil: So: no regrets?

Aaron: Regrets are for fags. I'm cool.

Devil: All that money and nowhere to spend it. That would bother ME. Maybe you're different.

Aaron: I AM different. It's how I roll.

Devil: So I'm wasting my time, being here with you?

Aaron: Yes you are. Go fuck with someone else.

Devil: Sure. Maybe I'll go visit your daughter. We can have a nice chat about her Dad. Share some stories.

Aaron: Leave her out of this, you Fuck!

Devil: Too late. You already ruined her life, not me. Cute girl, too. I'm looking forward to spending time with her. I have a lot of time.

Aaron: Please: just leave...

Devil: So there IS a touch of humanity in you. If I were you, I'd kill myself before it totally went away. Just a suggestion.

Aaron: What do you want me to say? That I fucked up? Sure, okay: I fucked up! I fucked up bad! Is that what you want to hear?

Devil: You know, God may look at that as a confession of sin. Good time to kill yourself, before you fuck things up worse.

Aaron: I don't want to die...

Devil: Sure you do. You think about it all the time. You're just a coward, that's all. I meet a LOT of cowards....

Aaron: I'm no coward. if I wanted to kill myself I'd do it, no problem.

Devil: Then how would you do it, Aaron?

Aaron: I don't know...

Devil: Sure you do, Aaron: sure you do.

Aaron: I'd hang myself, I guess.

Devil: Old School: nice. What would you hang yourself with?

Aaron: Uh... the bedsheet?

Devil: That would do it, Aaron.

Aaron: I'm NOT a coward.

Devil: How about I come back in an hour? We'll see if you are still a coward or not...

Aaron: I'm not a coward.

Devil: No, you're a Big Man. Big Men know what they need to do.

Aaron: Just don't go visit my daughter, okay?

Devil: Don't worry, Aaron: I'll let someone else break the news to her...

I am Laslo.

I'm Full of Soup said...

The NE Patriots go to the White House today to meet Trump. I guess missing that YUGE event was the last straw for Hernandez.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

ARM said: And, like models, they end up broke and drug addled more often than not."

Undoubtedly true of many. Others can channel the drive needed to succeed in pro sports into constructive channels:

http://www.upworthy.com/from-winemakers-to-neurosurgeons-these-15-former-nfl-players-got-a-second-chance-and-a-new-career

There's a guy on the Ravens who is working on his PhD in Mathematics at MIT in the offseason and another Raven who is an opera singer. That's unusual, but I knew a fair number of athletes when I was in college and found the "dumb jock" stereotype is somewhat inaccurate. They seem to fall into 2 types: the boneheads and bullies who flunk Basket Weaving 101 and don't care because they are positive they will make a ton of money playing ball and others who were competitive in everything they did. They got good grades because they wanted to be the best at everything.

campy said...

I'm just worried Goodell will suspend Tom Brady over this.

Gahrie said...

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Rick said...

The timing is odd since he was just found not guilty of the murders his previous murder was supposed to be covering up. Lawyers were saying this gave a legitimate cause for appeal to his only conviction and thus opened up at least the possibility of eventual release.

So why now? Maybe he didn't want to burn through his family's money on an appeal knowing all along he's guilty.

urbane legend said...

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...
"I find utilizing worse than garnering."

Agreed. Better news-writing would be "with the usage of."

Writers who value simple and effective communication would say "using."


Writers who value simple and effective communication would say "with." Note here that, as with most government agents, the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Communications is making no attempt to be simple and effective.

Mr. Hernandez hanged himself with a bed sheet attached to his cell window. What could be easier?

I Callahan said...

I would question whether football does these guys any favors in the long run. They are just fresh meat for the sausage factory, similar to models. And, like models, they end up broke and drug addled more often than not. What looks like an escape only amplifies their problems.

Well, Curtis could have ended up like his father - poor and abusive. But he didn't. Are you saying that's a bad thing?

tim in vermont said...

They got good grades because they wanted to be the best at everything.

Jerry Rice.

You start out thinking guys like him were just picked by God to be great, but he grew up in the rural Deep South, when he wanted to ride a horse, he would run one down and catch it. Usually he would go for the fastest horse, and it might take him 45 minutes. His father was a brick layer, and he worked with his father catching the bricks thrown up, and handing them to his father to lay. Catching bricks for hour after hour. Plus he was ultra competitive, he said that "Dancing With the Stars" meant as much to him to win as the Super Bowl.

A lot of these guys just had fantastic drive.

tim in vermont said...

Curtis Martin has ended up with a great life, and his mother is living a great life too. His father died of cancer, they helped him through it in an act of great forgiveness. Martin, as a young man, said he was going to make a deal with God, instead of the Devil, like so many in his neighborhood had. Say what you will about whether that was delusional or not, it has led to a good life for the man.

Michael said...

4th and 90.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I Callahan said...
Well, Curtis could have ended up like his father - poor and abusive. But he didn't. Are you saying that's a bad thing?


No, but he probably had the self discipline to thrive with or without football. I am questioning whether the net effect of football on these peoples lives is beneficial. There are a few big winners but a hell of a lot of losers, just like models.

mockturtle said...

Nicely portrayed, Laslo.

ndspinelli said...

tim in vermont, I grew up in Bristol and played sports w/ Aaron Hernandez uncle, Vito. Aaron is the son of Vito's younger brother, Dennis. Vito and Dennis grew up in a good Puerto Rican/Italian family. Dennis married a pretty hard scrabble woman. Vito and Dennis were great athletes and that got passed down to Aaron. It went straight south for Aaron at age 16 when his father died during routine surgery.

I do not say this to garner sympathy. Aaron was a thug. But, he didn't grow up in an inner city w/ gang violence. He grew up in a blue collar, ethnic, town of 50K population that is the home of ESPN. There was a large GM plant in Bristol that closed down at the time ESPN was ascending. The motivated, smart laid off workers learned new skills and went to work for ESPN.

Fernandinande said...

EDH said...
A single cell with no brain.


If I had a brain would I know which game "Hernandez" played and no longer kinda-laugh-at the name "Aaron"?

tim in vermont said...

The motivated, smart laid off workers learned new skills and went to work for ESPN.

And the rest are condemned to compete with illegal aliens, who drive down wages for unskilled labor. Peanut Butters can tell you all about how these deplorable are getting what they deserve. He has whole riffs on it.

Larry J said...

exiledonmainstreet said...
ARM said: And, like models, they end up broke and drug addled more often than not."

Undoubtedly true of many. Others can channel the drive needed to succeed in pro sports into constructive channels:

http://www.upworthy.com/from-winemakers-to-neurosurgeons-these-15-former-nfl-players-got-a-second-chance-and-a-new-career

There's a guy on the Ravens who is working on his PhD in Mathematics at MIT in the offseason and another Raven who is an opera singer. That's unusual, but I knew a fair number of athletes when I was in college and found the "dumb jock" stereotype is somewhat inaccurate. They seem to fall into 2 types: the boneheads and bullies who flunk Basket Weaving 101 and don't care because they are positive they will make a ton of money playing ball and others who were competitive in everything they did. They got good grades because they wanted to be the best at everything.


Excellent point. Many of these young men came up hard. Some learned how to better themselves while others like Hernandez went for the thug life. Here's another counter-example to the "dumb jock" stereotype:

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/04/alabama_mit_standout_taking_bi.html

Michael K said...

"There are a few big winners but a hell of a lot of losers, just like models."

No, there are quite a few athletes that have made good lives. There are also thugs who usually show up at some point, often before they finish a college career.

Some college sports programs do a better job of screening and supporting the athletes. I attended and have followed the USC football program for over 50 years and, aside from OJ, there have been few embarrassments.

Lots of good post career second careers. A few post traumatic brain issues as players get bigger and bigger. Junior Seau was a recent very sad case.

FullMoon said...

rehajm said...

Yesterday he was looking like freakin' OJ so decides to hang himself. Right.
4/19/17, 7:32 AM


Yep, Has to be more to the story. Maybe accidental during celebratory asphyxiation/masturbation, like Robin Williams>

William said...

I wouldn't characterize my feelings as pity and terror, but this is a guy who royally fucked up his life. Our most basic and intimate possession is our body. He was born rich in that regard and had sufficient discipline and resolve to exploit that wealth. In other areas, not so much. I have enough character to resist the urge to kill or rape, but I rarely have enough character to do a rigorous workout. In some ways, he had more character than us......I'm looking for a moral or life lesson here, but I don't find one. He did get to fall from a high estate, though. The trajectory of a lot of the prison population is people who fall from the gutter to the sewer. He got sucked into the sewer from a park bench.

David Baker said...

"And so if some unlucky accident should befall my youngest son, if some police officer should accidentally shoot him, or if he should hang himself in his cell, or if my son is struck by a bolt of lightening, then I will blame some of the people here."

Life imitating art?

cubanbob said...

Laslo, very good but a bit disturbing.

As for Hernandez, presumably he finally realized that he was never going to get out of prison young and rich and probably never get out of prison at all.

David Baker said...

Something didn't sound right about the above Godfather quote, so I checked the movie clip on YouTube.

I was right, the quote starting at 4:37; "...then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room..." - not "some of the people here..."

Rick.T. said...

cubanbob said...

"As for Hernandez, presumably he finally realized that he was never going to get out of prison young and rich and probably never get out of prison at all."

I believe he was sentenced to life without parole on the earlier conviction.

dreams said...

Some are saying that it wasn't suicide but that he was killed by his fellow inmates or by the authorities. Poetic justice?

Titus said...

There is an interesting story in the Globe today. This is the first suicide this prison has ever had and a prison expert knew the prison well and said it is next to impossible to hang yourself because of the design of the room.

Could it be murder?

Ann Althouse said...

Nice to see the return of the old Clumber.

Ann Althouse said...

Excellent visualization, Laslo.

Bandit said...

Gronk seemed unconcerned today

eddie willers said...

I do not say this to garner sympathy.

You're a braver man than I am, Gunga Din.

Etienne said...

Good riddance. No one wanted his organs anyway. Best to burn the carcass.

Anonymous said...

Laslo slays. Almost literally.