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Suicide in jail. Not a real surprise. What a wasted life/talent.
Lawrence Phillips Dead
- Thread starter Billy Baroo
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- Rambeau
12intheBox
Legend
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- Wil Fay
Such a sad case. Reading his letters to his old coaches from jail was heartbreaking. Dude was mentally ill and I'm not sure anyone ever recognized it until it was too late.
12intheBox
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- Wil Fay
Strongly disagree.
Mental illness is a real thing and we treat it like its a .... We don't friggin treat it all.
Yes, it's horrible when someone's mental illness ultimately causes harm or even death to an innocent 3rd party - but in my mind, it's not that much different than someone getting a contagious disease and accidentally infecting someone else with it.
I have a soft spot, I'll admit / but I've seen too many lives ruined by our failures to take mental illness seriously.
Yes, he "had it all" and yes he "wasted it" but when your brain doesn't work right, it doesn't work right. We don't blame the blind for being blind.
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- Peter
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/13/lawrence-phillips-found-dead-in-prison-cell/
Lawrence Phillips found dead in prison cell
Posted by Josh Alper on January 13, 2016
Getty Images
Former NFL first-round pick Lawrence Phillips is dead at the age of 40.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released a statement Wednesday announcing Phillips’ death. He was found unresponsive in his cell at Kern Valley State Prison early on Wednesday morning and transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Prison officials suspect that Phillips took his own life.
Phillips was serving a 31-year sentence for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence, corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft and was also facing a murder charge related to the death of his cellmate in 2013. Because of that charge, Phillips was in an Administrative Segregation Unit in a cell by himself at the time of his death.
Phillips was the sixth overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Rams after starring at the University of Nebraska. He entered the league with a history of off-field issues, including an arrest for assaulting his girlfriend, and those issues continued before and after his 35-game NFL career that also saw him spend time with the 49ers and Dolphins.
Lawrence Phillips found dead in prison cell
Posted by Josh Alper on January 13, 2016
Former NFL first-round pick Lawrence Phillips is dead at the age of 40.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released a statement Wednesday announcing Phillips’ death. He was found unresponsive in his cell at Kern Valley State Prison early on Wednesday morning and transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Prison officials suspect that Phillips took his own life.
Phillips was serving a 31-year sentence for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence, corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft and was also facing a murder charge related to the death of his cellmate in 2013. Because of that charge, Phillips was in an Administrative Segregation Unit in a cell by himself at the time of his death.
Phillips was the sixth overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Rams after starring at the University of Nebraska. He entered the league with a history of off-field issues, including an arrest for assaulting his girlfriend, and those issues continued before and after his 35-game NFL career that also saw him spend time with the 49ers and Dolphins.
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Yeah I don't sign on with all the modern nonsense about understanding where criminals are coming from, putting labels on why people are a$$holes, etc. He's a piece of crap and the human race isn't gonna miss him.
But it's good you have a big heart and all, you're a better human than I.
LACHAMP46
A snazzy title
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http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/new...ommits-suicide-in-at-kern-valley-state-prison
Ex-NFL player Lawrence Phillips suspected of commiting suicide at Kern Valley State Prison
crisornelas@kget.com
The following is a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation:
Officials at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) are investigating the death of inmate Lawrence Phillips as a suspected suicide.
The incident occurred at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, when staff conducting security checks found Phillips, 40, unresponsive in his cell. He was transported to an outside hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 1:27 a.m. Next-of-kin has been notified.
Phillips had been in an Administrative Segregation Unit on single-cell status since April 11, 2013, after he was suspected of killing his cellmate. Phillips was currently in the early stages of the trial in Kern County for the homicide.
Phillips was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Oct. 16, 2008, from San Diego County to serve a 31-year, four-month sentence for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence, corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft. Phillips played in the National Football League prior to his incarceration in state prison.
KVSP opened in 2005 and houses 3,896 minimum-, medium-, maximum- and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,800 people.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/01/13/lawrence-phillips-death-prison/78742058/
Lawrence Phillips found dead in prison at age 40
Josh Peter, USA TODAY Sports2:18 p.m. EST January 13, 2016
Phillips was facing a possible death penalty in the alleged murder of his former cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison. USA TODAY Sports
TWEET 14LINKEDIN 25COMMENTEMAILMORE
Lawrence Phillips, the former football star facing murder charges, was found dead early Wednesday at Kern Valley State Prison, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton told USA TODAY Sports.
The death is being investigated as a suspected suicide, according to press release from the department.
Phillips, 40, was facing the possible death penalty in the alleged murder of his former cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison. At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, a Superior Court judge ruled there was "sufficient cause to believe'' Phillips committed murder, according to court records, which cleared the way for a trial that could have ended with Phillips getting the death penalty.
Tony Zane, who coached Phillips at Baldwin Park High School in Southern California, said he received a letter from Phillips about a month ago and there was no indication Phillips was suicidal.
"It had nothing indicating anything like this,'' Zane told USA TODAY Sports. "He was talking about the fact that his mom had gotten him an attorney.''
Phillips' former cellmate, Damion Soward, was found unresponsive April 11 in the cell the men shared and died as a result of strangulation, according to a coroner’s report. What was believed to be blood was found on Soward, Phillips’ white T-shirt and on several items, including the two T-shirts, pill bottles, a folder and a bag, according to the incident report.
USA TODAY
Lawrence Phillips hinted at murder a month before cellmate found dead
Prison officials immediately identified Phillips as a suspect and the Kern County District Attorney’s office launched an investigation. Criminal charges were filed Sept. 1.
The month before his cellmate’s death, Phillips wrote a letter to his mother saying he thought his anger might lead to his death or someone else's death.
"I feel myself very close to snapping,'' wrote Phillips in a letter dated March 5, 2015. "My anger grows daily as I have become fed up with prison. I feel my anger is near bursting and that will result in my death or the death of someone else.''
FOR THE WIN
The terrifying prison letters from ex-Nebraska star Lawrence Phillips
Phillips was the star running back on the University of Nebraska’s national championship teams in 1994 and 1995, and a first-round pick, sixth overall, in the 1996 NFL draft. He played for three seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. In 2009, he was sentenced to 31 years in prison for two separate incidents — driving his car into three teenagers and assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
Not sure where everyone stands on a guy that let it all go to waste. But trust me, there are real monsters out there, and Lawrence wasn't one of them....
Ex-NFL player Lawrence Phillips suspected of commiting suicide at Kern Valley State Prison
crisornelas@kget.com
The following is a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation:
Officials at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) are investigating the death of inmate Lawrence Phillips as a suspected suicide.
The incident occurred at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, when staff conducting security checks found Phillips, 40, unresponsive in his cell. He was transported to an outside hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 1:27 a.m. Next-of-kin has been notified.
Phillips had been in an Administrative Segregation Unit on single-cell status since April 11, 2013, after he was suspected of killing his cellmate. Phillips was currently in the early stages of the trial in Kern County for the homicide.
Phillips was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Oct. 16, 2008, from San Diego County to serve a 31-year, four-month sentence for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence, corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment and vehicle theft. Phillips played in the National Football League prior to his incarceration in state prison.
KVSP opened in 2005 and houses 3,896 minimum-, medium-, maximum- and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,800 people.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/01/13/lawrence-phillips-death-prison/78742058/
Lawrence Phillips found dead in prison at age 40
Josh Peter, USA TODAY Sports2:18 p.m. EST January 13, 2016
Phillips was facing a possible death penalty in the alleged murder of his former cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison. USA TODAY Sports
TWEET 14LINKEDIN 25COMMENTEMAILMORE
Lawrence Phillips, the former football star facing murder charges, was found dead early Wednesday at Kern Valley State Prison, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton told USA TODAY Sports.
The death is being investigated as a suspected suicide, according to press release from the department.
Phillips, 40, was facing the possible death penalty in the alleged murder of his former cellmate at Kern Valley State Prison. At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, a Superior Court judge ruled there was "sufficient cause to believe'' Phillips committed murder, according to court records, which cleared the way for a trial that could have ended with Phillips getting the death penalty.
Tony Zane, who coached Phillips at Baldwin Park High School in Southern California, said he received a letter from Phillips about a month ago and there was no indication Phillips was suicidal.
"It had nothing indicating anything like this,'' Zane told USA TODAY Sports. "He was talking about the fact that his mom had gotten him an attorney.''
Phillips' former cellmate, Damion Soward, was found unresponsive April 11 in the cell the men shared and died as a result of strangulation, according to a coroner’s report. What was believed to be blood was found on Soward, Phillips’ white T-shirt and on several items, including the two T-shirts, pill bottles, a folder and a bag, according to the incident report.
USA TODAY
Lawrence Phillips hinted at murder a month before cellmate found dead
Prison officials immediately identified Phillips as a suspect and the Kern County District Attorney’s office launched an investigation. Criminal charges were filed Sept. 1.
The month before his cellmate’s death, Phillips wrote a letter to his mother saying he thought his anger might lead to his death or someone else's death.
"I feel myself very close to snapping,'' wrote Phillips in a letter dated March 5, 2015. "My anger grows daily as I have become fed up with prison. I feel my anger is near bursting and that will result in my death or the death of someone else.''
FOR THE WIN
The terrifying prison letters from ex-Nebraska star Lawrence Phillips
Phillips was the star running back on the University of Nebraska’s national championship teams in 1994 and 1995, and a first-round pick, sixth overall, in the 1996 NFL draft. He played for three seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. In 2009, he was sentenced to 31 years in prison for two separate incidents — driving his car into three teenagers and assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
Not sure where everyone stands on a guy that let it all go to waste. But trust me, there are real monsters out there, and Lawrence wasn't one of them....
12intheBox
Legend
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- Wil Fay
I'm a criminal defense attorney - most of us have big hearts. It comes from having to see the people that society immediately wants to label "pieces of crap" and to spend time with them. It comes from spending time with their families.
We all want to be judged by our intentions while we judge others based on their results.
But forgiveness and redemption and rehabilitation aside, there are people out there on the streets who really can't help it.
America has taken the lazy way out of Mental illness - we lock these people up. This makes a lot of them worse and even more dangerous once they get out, it ends up costing society a lot more $$, and it creates a terrible cycle for everyone.
You can roll your eyes and think that I'm starting a coombayah circle over here - but your perspective of life is just yours. Mine is just mine. Neither is better than the other.
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RIP to the beginning of the greatest show on turf....
No really, check it out....
If we don't draft Phillips, good chance we take Eddie George - and that would have been a tremendously better pick. But if we draft George, we don't trade for Marshall.....and several guys (including Kurt Warner) have said, no Marshall, no GSOT. And I consider Marshall to be MUCH better than George ever was in the NFL. We might become a playoff team, but considering how close the super bowl was, I doubt we win it without Marshall.
So one could argue that drafting Phillips was one of the best moves the Rams ever made..
No really, check it out....
If we don't draft Phillips, good chance we take Eddie George - and that would have been a tremendously better pick. But if we draft George, we don't trade for Marshall.....and several guys (including Kurt Warner) have said, no Marshall, no GSOT. And I consider Marshall to be MUCH better than George ever was in the NFL. We might become a playoff team, but considering how close the super bowl was, I doubt we win it without Marshall.
So one could argue that drafting Phillips was one of the best moves the Rams ever made..
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A sad waste and it's too bad the guy who I'm sure had countless hours of therapy could not dispose of the demon inside him....My prayers and thoughts go out to him and his family too and others that he hurt as well.
Dieter the Brock
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Ramrocket
Hating 49ers and Seahawks from afar
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Roman Snow
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It is interesting timing. Tragic life.
