Good ol' Lawrence Phillips

[rdlkgliders]

I believe Utah just brought back the firing squad.....Can you imagine

 

[RaminExile]

The research shows that some of it is genetic, but much of personality is based on development and Lawrence Philips didn't have the greatest upbringing (I believe he was in group homes and had multiple problems with his parents as a child). That's no excuse for his behavior but explains why he is the way he is

Its genetic - but not everyone whose brain happens to be wired that way will end up a criminal like that. Sometimes the trigger is not there - it takes something to kick it off. Others (sociopaths I'm talking about here) will become very successful in business, law or politics because these areas reward sociopathic behaviour (although in business sometimes the risks they take because they basically don't care sometimes bite them in the ass). Look at someone like Nixon. Sometimes they get caught - then they'll apologise (without meaning a word of it). Dick Cheney is another one in politics I think of.

You've gotta feel a bit for someone like Vermeil who can see the good in people. He wanted to really help and turn this guy around - and obviously believed he had it in him to do it and he's really been let down by the guys nature. Very sad.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

can we correct the original post to this please:

Former 49ers Running Back Lawrence Phillips Suspected Of Killing Prison Cellmate

FRESNO (CBS/AP) — Former San Francisco 49ers running back Lawrence Phillips is suspected of killing his cellmate in a Central California prison.

Prison officials said Monday that Phillips’ cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison was found lifeless over the weekend and later pronounced dead.

Phillips, 39, was once one of the nation’s top college football players at Nebraska. Aside from the 49ers, Phillips also played for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. He also played in NFL Europe, the Arena Football League and the Canadian Football League.

Phillips was considered by many the best overall player heading into the NFL 1996 draft, but he fell to the Rams with the number six pick following his suspension for an alleged assault on his girlfriend. His career was marked by frequent run-ins with coaches and off-field problems, including accusations of assault and brief stays in jail.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...hillips-suspected-of-killing-prison-cellmate/

 

[CodeMonkey]

NAH! If I'm not mistake, there's a state that still Hang's them!! Can you imagin, hanging by a broken neck, while your being strangled by a rope, and dangling in mid-air!! I'm not sure, I think it was Arizona, I may be wrong. They may not be doing it anymore, it's been a few years since I read this!

Firing squad is by far the most humane way, imo.

The Chair was in fact championed by Edison to demonstrate the dangers of his opponent's (Tesla/Westinghouse) brand of alternating current electricity. He was selling direct current.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents

Edison opposed capital punishment, but his desire to disparage the system of alternating current led to the invention of the electric chair. Harold P. Brown, who was being secretly paid by Edison, built the first electric chair for the state of New York to promote the idea that alternating current was deadlier than DC.[30]

Edison actually demonstrated by murdering an elephant with AC current. Pretty sick!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_mJfWKNTI


Yes, the electric chair is certainly most cruel and unusual.

That said, it is my opinion that some people's crimes are so heinous that the death penalty isn't severe enough.

 

[LesBaker]

 

[RamFan503]

If you listen closely you can hear Vermeil crying.

If you listen carefully you can hear Rich Brooks career saying he didn't want to be LP's cell mate.

 

[kurtfaulk]

despite his track record at Nebraska of domestic assault.

so he had a track record of beating up women and teams were still comfortable taking him in the top 10? unbelievable.

did they think they could magically change his behavior? whoever drafted him deserved what they got out of him.

just a question, why didn't he serve jail time for beating up on women?

.

 

[Prime Time]

just a question, why didn't he serve jail time for beating up on women?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Phillips#After_football

At the time of the arrest, Phillips was also wanted by the San Diego(California) police in connection with two alleged domestic-abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend, who claimed that Phillips had choked her to the point of unconsciousness.

In March, 2006, Phillips was ordered to stand trial on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon (car), stemming from the August 21, 2005, incident.[ On October 10, 2006, he was found guilty of seven counts. On October 3, 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in a California state prison.

While serving that sentence, Philips was convicted in August 2009 for the assault on his former girlfriend on seven counts, including assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, and auto theft. On December 18, 2009, Phillips was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the 2009 convictions, to run consecutive to the 2008 sentence (which was reduced to just under 7 years), for a combined term of more than 31 years.

 

[VegasRam]

Interesting.... These are some of the problems in the childcare system Laurence probably had to deal with...I still believe nurture is stronger than nature...In America, we are making criminals...

First of all Champ, your, (I assume), little girl is gorgeous. I know you have a bat at home - you're gonna' need it in a few years.

Second - Go Dodgers.

Third, as far as Phillips - sometimes bad is just bad. Not defending child services at all, (though would not want their job), but seems unfair to blame them for Phillips's not growing up in a nurturing home.
And I might agree that prisons produce criminals, but don't really buy that America does.

 

[RamFan503]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Phillips#After_football

At the time of the arrest, Phillips was also wanted by the San Diego(California) police in connection with two alleged domestic-abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend, who claimed that Phillips had choked her to the point of unconsciousness.

In March, 2006, Phillips was ordered to stand trial on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon (car), stemming from the August 21, 2005, incident.[ On October 10, 2006, he was found guilty of seven counts. On October 3, 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in a California state prison.

While serving that sentence, Philips was convicted in August 2009 for the assault on his former girlfriend on seven counts, including assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, and auto theft. On December 18, 2009, Phillips was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the 2009 convictions, to run consecutive to the 2008 sentence (which was reduced to just under 7 years), for a combined term of more than 31 years.

Well at least he's no quitter. The murder charge should keep him well stocked in orange jumpers for years to come.

 

[kurtfaulk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Phillips#After_football

At the time of the arrest, Phillips was also wanted by the San Diego(California) police in connection with two alleged domestic-abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend, who claimed that Phillips had choked her to the point of unconsciousness.

In March, 2006, Phillips was ordered to stand trial on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon (car), stemming from the August 21, 2005, incident.[ On October 10, 2006, he was found guilty of seven counts. On October 3, 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years in a California state prison.

While serving that sentence, Philips was convicted in August 2009 for the assault on his former girlfriend on seven counts, including assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, and auto theft. On December 18, 2009, Phillips was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the 2009 convictions, to run consecutive to the 2008 sentence (which was reduced to just under 7 years), for a combined term of more than 31 years.

sorry man, i meant before he got drafted. when he was doing it in college.

.

 

[Prime Time]

These are some of the problems in the childcare system Laurence probably had to deal with...I still believe nurture is stronger than nature...In America, we are making criminals

As someone who has volunteered in a prison here in Cumberland, MD for over 15 years, I have come to the conclusion that the main problem is a lack of father figures in these men's lives beginning in their childhood.

They have both educational and sports programs in these prisons but most would rather play pool and cards than doing anything to better themselves. When they are released many are more hardened and might even become better criminals than when they came in to serve their sentences. The die seems to be cast by the time they get there. The prison system is not helping them but many aren't helping themselves either. There are exceptions of course but they are in the minority.

sorry man, i meant before he got drafted. when he was doing it in college.

In that case it could be because the women decided to drop the charges either out of fear or because they got paid off. Sad but probably true.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ex-nfl-lawrence-phillips-violence-20150414-story.html

Before slaying, ex-NFL player Lawrence Phillips had history of violence
By VERONICA ROCHA

Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips had been spiraling downward for years before finally landing in prison for battering his live-in girlfriend and stealing her car.

Phillips is serving 31 years in a central California prison, and authorities said his violent streak flared anew when he allegedly killed his cellmate over the weekend.

Phillips, who played with the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, is accused of killing 37-year-old Damion Soward in Kern Valley State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Soward, a reputed gang member from the Inland Empire, was serving an 82-years-to-life sentence in the execution murder of Michael Fairley, a rival gang member known by the moniker “Trouble.”

Long before Phillips landed in prison, he had gained a reputation with his anger and spontaneous bursts of aggression.

The Los Angeles native grew up in the foster system, where he was placed after it was suspected that he had been abused and neglected, according to The Times archives. When he landed at the University of Nebraska to play football, it appeared he had turned his life around.

Despite his football skills, things went wrong quickly. In college, Phillips was accused of bashing his girlfriend’s head into a mailbox after he allegedly caught her in bed with the team's quarterback.

He pleaded no contest to charges of trespassing and misdemeanor assault in 1995.

The following year, Phillips was drafted by the Rams but ran into trouble when he was stopped for drunk driving on Pomona Freeway.

After being cut by the Rams in 1997, Phillips was signed by the Miami Dolphins, who cut him after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery for allegedly hitting a woman who refused to dance with him at a Florida nightclub.

After playing in Europe, Phillips joined the 49ers, but financial and legal problems followed. He later pleaded no contest to felony charges of assault and making a terrorist threat.

He moved to San Diego where he was accused of punching and choking his girlfriend.

A week later, he showed up outside the Los Angeles Coliseum and ran over three teens he thought had stolen his belongings. He was ultimately convicted of domestic violence, false imprisonment and vehicle theft.

And if found guilty of killing his cellmate, the former athlete could face life in prison.

For now, prison officials said Phillips has been segregated from the rest of the prison population.

http://deadspin.com/5335955/the-long-strange-sad-journey-of-lawrence-phillips

The Long Strange Sad Journey Of Lawrence Phillips
Dashiell Bennett - 8/12/09

Former Nebraska/NFL running back Lawrence Phillips was convicted of seven felony charges yesterday and faces up to 25 years in prison, but he's already in jail, serving a 10-year sentence for another crime. How did it come to this?

Of all the cases of wasted talent in football—and there are many—Phillips may have had the most talent to waste. I vividly remember the night It All Changed for him back in 1995, because earlier that day I had watched Phillips torch Michigan State in the home opener in East Lansing. He looked like the best football player on Earth that day, and he might have been, but later that evening he was arrested after throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs. Tom Osbourne did not kick him off the team, the Cornhuskers still won the National Championship, and Phillips was a top 10 NFL Draft pick, but that was just the start of the slippery slide of legal trouble that would follow him the rest of his life.

Rams coach Dick Vermeil called him the best running back he ever had—as he was kicking Phillips off his team after multiple arrests. He had numerous assault charges. He played for seven teams in four different leagues. He ran over three kids with a car in 2005. (Earning him the 10-year sentence.) Everywhere he went, he showed flashes of the amazing once-in-a-lifetime running back everyone knew he could be—he won a Grey Cup!—but everywhere he went he got in trouble, burned bridges and was sent packing. On two occasions in 2005, he choked his girlfriend leading to this latest conviction. He is beyond "three strikes" now and could easily get the full 25 years in prison at his sentencing next month.

The good news is that the latest choking victim says they're still dating. Also this, which is priceless. Theisman vs. Kiper on character issues. The whole thing would be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

 

[LACHAMP46]

First of all Champ, your, (I assume), little girl is gorgeous. I know you have a bat at home - you're gonna' need it in a few years.

Second - Go Dodgers.

Third, as far as Phillips - sometimes bad is just bad. Not defending child services at all, (though would not want their job), but seems unfair to blame them for Phillips's not growing up in a nurturing home.
And I might agree that prisons produce criminals, but don't really buy that America does.

Thanks man, appreciate the compliment. Yep, my little Kayli, mostly my wife but can't you see the resemblance...
Dodgers owe the Cards more than the Giants...Can't believe we traded Matt Kemp..
Phillips is bad...but he was MADE this way....We need the type of money spent on defense:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military–industrial_complex
on the school system, and get some of these geniuses on the social systems and fix it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison–industrial_complex
I could go on and on, but this seems to be some kind of weird experiment, strong will survive, and while I understand it and can deal with it, I worry about people that can't.... Eating dudes like Phillips up out here....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School-to-prison_pipeline

grew up in the foster system, where he was placed after it was suspected that he had been abused and neglected

He coulda been saved right here...but you need serious Dr. Drew-type intervention....

 

[Ballhawk]

Phillips, who played with the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, is accused of killing 37-year-old Damion Soward in Kern Valley State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Soward, a reputed gang member from the Inland Empire, was serving an 82-years-to-life sentence in the execution murder of Michael Fairley, a rival gang member known by the moniker “Trouble.”

Or maybe he should earn some points for doing society a favor?

 

[Memento]

Or maybe he should earn some points for doing society a favor?

I don't care. Phillips is even worse than Soward was. Soward murdered another gang member. Phillips beat and choked innocent women and drove his car into three innocent teenagers.

Soward > Phillips, although it isn't by much, I must admit. And now Phillips is also a murderer.

 

[Ballhawk]

I don't care. Phillips is even worse than Soward was. Soward murdered another gang member. Phillips beat and choked innocent women and drove his car into three innocent teenagers.

Soward > Phillips, although it isn't by much, I must admit. And now Phillips is also a murderer.

And that means that we shouldn't' have to worry about either one of them threatening society ever again.

 

[Thordaddy]

But we brought it all home with Tony Banks in the 2nd...

And a dog named after Phillip's favorite activity

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/16/report-damion-sowards-death-declared-a-homicide/

Report: Damion Soward’s death declared a homicide
Posted by Mike Wilkening on April 16, 2015

A coroner has reportedly declared the death of a man who shared living quarters with Lawrence Phillips in a California prison to be a homicide.

According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Damion Soward died of neck compression asphyxia, or strangulation, The Associated Press reported.

Soward died Sunday after being found stricken the previous day in his cell at the Kern Valley State Prison.

Phillips, 39, has been named as a suspect in Soward’s death.

A first-round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, Phillips is serving a 31-year sentence on multiple assault charges.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Great story about this...Click the links in the story too...it kinda gives the whole picture...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-a-dead-cellmate-and-another-day-of-reckoning

 

[Rmfnlt]

Great story about this...Click the links in the story too...it kinda gives the whole picture...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-a-dead-cellmate-and-another-day-of-reckoning

What's your view of the big picture?