Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Aaron Hernandez Found Dead in his Cell

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his cell in a Massachusetts prison early this morning. Hernandez, 27, reportedly hanged himself. He had been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, but had just recently been acquitted of the 2012 fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtad.

Prison officials said that they had no reason to believe that Hernandez was suicidal. If they had, they would have transferred him to the mental health unit, instead of allowing him to remain in his single-occupancy cell. A spokesperson for the Patriots said that the team, which is visiting the White House today to celebrate its Super Bowl win, will not be commenting.

Sports world reacts to former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez’s “tragic” death. https://t.co/1f6BFuDF1e pic.twitter.com/dYZz3jFxRK

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 19, 2017

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: April 19, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Roadside Killers Arrested In North Charleston

Like a plot from a thriller movie, two teens are being charged for murdering a man who helped them get their car out of a ditch. Major WTF. 17-year-old Deon Frasier and 19-year-old Michael Dupree-Taylor were arrested Monday night on murder charges as well as one count of possession of a weapon.

The victim had stopped to help the two boys pull their Dodge Durango out of a ditch in North Charleston, South Carolina. After the car was retrieved, the boys robbed and shot the man before driving off. Not cool, bro.

via GIPHY

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The post RantCrush Top 5: August 17, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Aaron Hernandez was found guilty yesterday of the first-degree murder of Odin L. Lloyd. Hernandez, a former tight end for the New England Patriots, will serve life in prison without the chance of parole. The legal troubles aren’t over for Hernandez, however, as there are still two more murder charges for the former star. The high profile nature of these cases does now beg a question: how did a man with such a bright spotlight shone on him manage to keep his criminal behaviors in the dark for so long?

Hernandez’s past is often described as a troubled one. He grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, was known to run with bad crowds from time to time, and other members of his family had relatively consistent run-ins with the law. But Hernandez’s talent on the football field always seemed to propel him forward–he shattered Connecticut state records, was very successful playing as a Gator at the University of Florida, and then was a fourth-round draft pick for the New England Patriots. By the time he was arrested he’d made millions of dollars and was still young enough to have many good years in the NFL ahead of him.

He was the “pride” of his small town. But he’s also a murderer–he’s now been found guilty of shooting one man seemingly in cold blood, and it’s looking pretty likely he’ll get convicted in the 2012 murders of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Hernandez allegedly shot them after Abreu bumped into him in a club and caused Hernandez to spill his drink.

There are really only two possibilities for what happened here. One is that he was such a brilliant manipulator that he managed to hide his violent tendencies from those around him. The other seems unlikely, although it’s not a completely outlandish theory. Boston.com columnist Bill Speros wrote an op-ed in which he alleged that Hernandez is an undiagnosed psychopath. An interview from right after the Boston murders seems to lend at least some evidence to that theory. He joked and laughed with the media, saying that his summer was “private” but he “still had some fun.” If he did indeed murder Abreu and Furtado, the fact that he could be so callous and removed just 11 days later certainly is a concerning sign.

I think there’s a more likely scenario, however, and that’s that there were plenty of warning signs, but that they were flat out ignored because of his star status. Take an oft-cited incident when he was in Gainesville, for example. He went out with some of his former teammates, got into a dispute over a check, and ended up punching a bouncer in the face. One of his teammates on the Patriots, Tully Banta-Cain, said in 2010:

A lot of guys come into the NFL haunted by the past. Some guys overcome it and some continue to be haunted throughout their careers if they’re not able to disassociate themselves from certain people or certain atmospheres. Aaron may have fallen victim to that.

Aaron Hernandez spent his life thus far with people who were willing to look out for him because they saw promise, or because they saw that he was trying to overcome a “troubled” background. But in an atmosphere like that, it seems like he got away with a lot and those close to him let a lot of things slide.

That wouldn’t be unheard of. The Steubenville rape scandal a few years back, for example, showed an almost textbook example of many people in a small town willing to forgive horrid crimes because of who the perpetrators were.

No one will ever really know how Hernandez–a man who ostensibly could have had a very bright future–ended up as a murderer. But one thing is certain: he’s now going to pay the price.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Aaron Hernandez: Sheltered by His Own Talent? appeared first on Law Street.

It seemed surreal when news broke that star NFL player Aaron Hernandez would be arrested for the mafia-style execution of local amateur football player Odin Lloyd. In the weeks following that report however, details from the case emerged that painted a very realistic image; the former New England Patriot may have actually committed murder. Ensuing news stories seemed to complete the picture of Hernandez as executioner. A motive for killing Lloyd surfaced. Rolling Stone made public his history of violence and drug abuse. But despite all the plausible connections made in the case, the prosecution was facing several hurdles in convicting the fallen football star. The murder weapon linked to the shooting has not been found and finding credible, cooperative witnesses in the trial has proved difficult for the prosecution. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts could be forced to convince a jury — using only circumstantial evidence —  that a local celebrity is guilty of murder.

This was true until recently, as the prosecution may have received a boost to its case. Last Friday, Hernandez’ alleged accomplices from the night of the murder, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, were indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Ortiz and Wallace were originally charged only as accomplices, but the failure of either party to cooperate in the Commonwealth’s case against Hernandez has forced the hand of the prosecution, and likely frustrated its’ attorneys.

The indictment of Ortiz and Wallace is helpful to the prosecution because if a murder was part of a joint venture, the judge presiding over the case may instruct the jury that they may render a guilty verdict without knowing who actually pulled the trigger. Joint venture liability doesn’t make the job easy, but it does allow for conviction if the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly participated in the commission of the crime charged.

Now its the defendants’ attorneys who are frustrated, and for good reason. If a jury didn’t believe Carlos Ortiz’s dubious story of ‘just going along for the ride‘ prior to the indictment, it meant he could be charged as an accessory. Now, he could do life. Prosecutors can also potentially use these new indictments as negative reinforcement to get Ortiz or Wallace to cooperate against Hernandez in a 2012 murder for which the former tight end has been investigated. Either way it appears the prosecution has gained an advantage, leaving Hernandez with even fewer teammates by his side.

—

Andrew Blancato (@BigDogBlancato) holds a J.D. from New York Law School, and is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. When he’s not writing, he is either clerking at a trial court in Connecticut, or obsessing over Boston sports.

Andrew Blancato

The post Hernandez Associates Charged With Murder: Big Break for Prosecution? appeared first on Law Street.

When the body of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd was discovered in a Massachusetts industrial park in June 2013, police quickly linked the then-New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez to the murder.

Amid the investigation of Hernandez’s involvement in the Lloyd case, there was also speculation that Hernandez may have played a role in the July 2012 murders of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado.

Court documents released for the first time on Thursday revealed that Boston police have been investigating whether Hernandez may have pulled the trigger. According to the June 28 police affidavit and search warrant application, “there is…probable cause to believe that Aaron Hernandez was operating the suspect vehicle used in the shooting homicides…and may have been the shooter.”

Although no one has been officially charged with the 2012 drive-by murders of Abreu and Furtado, the newly released documents show that shortly after Hernandez’s arrest in 2013, police received a call from an anonymous tipster, urging them to look into the NFL star’s possible involvement.

Upon further investigation, police recovered what they believe to be the vehicle and weapon involved, in addition to video footage which allegedly shows Hernandez stalking the victims at a nightclub in Boston.

The vehicle, a Toyota 4Runner SUV, was found at the Bristol, Conn. home of Hernandez’s uncle. While the released documents do not reveal specifically what the police found in the vehicle, they provide a timeline of what may have happened the night Abreu and Furtado were killed.

Video footage shows Hernandez and an accomplice, believed to be Alexander Bradley, entering a Boston nightclub directly behind Abreu and Furtado. Shortly after their arrival, Hernandez and Bradley are seen leaving the club and returning to a silver SUV around 1:17am. When the victims leave the club at approximately 2:10 am, outside video shows Hernandez’s silver SUV circling the block.

According to the documents, two men driving in the area told police they saw a silver SUV pull up next the victims’ BMW at a red light. Shots were fired and the SUV sped away. The witnesses described the driver as a Hispanic man with short dark hair. This account matches another one given to police by a passenger riding in the BMW with the victims.

If the assertions made by police turn out to be true, it would mean that Hernandez played the 2012-2013 NFL season after killing two people.

These most recent allegations come in the wake of Hernandez’s arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd last summer, a charge for which he is currently awaiting trial. Following a year that saw the arrests of more than 40 NFL players, this certainly casts yet another dark shadow over the NFL. Although the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy states that all persons associated with the league are required to avoid “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League,” some players have clearly missed the memo. Despite a troublesome year however, the NFL has remained consistent in its discipline of players and coaches alike, with punishments that “may take the form of fines, suspension, or banishment from the League and may include a probationary period and conditions that must be satisfied prior to or following reinstatement.”

Bad publicity aside, the Super Bowl, and the annual media frenzy that surrounds the NFL’s main event, is only weeks away. If the Patriots win on Sunday, Hernandez could find himself watching his former team play on football’s biggest stage.

[Boston Globe] [CNN]

Featured image courtesy of [Aaron Frutman via Flickr]

Matt DiCenso

Matt DiCenso is a graduate of The George Washington University. Contact Matt at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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