Aaron Hernandez Found Dead in his Jail Cell at the Age of 27

Only days after Aaron Hernandez was acquitted of a double murder rap from 2012, he was found dead hanged by a bed sheet in his cell.   In addition this comes only days after his lawyers made predictions that Hernandez would one day be let out of jail.   According to a statement released by the Department of Corrections:

“On April 19, 2017 Aaron Hernandez was discovered hanging in his cell by corrections officers at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley Massachusetts at approximately 3:05 a.m., lifesaving techniques were attempted on Mr. Hernandez and he was transported to UMASS Leominster where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. by a physician at the hospital. Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing. Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window. Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items. The Massachusetts State Police are on scene and the investigation continues. Mr. Hernandez’s next of kin have been notified.”

Hernandez was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd. Last Friday, Hernandez was found not guilty for the double murder of two men on a Boston street in 2012. Hernandez, who grew up in Bristol, Conn, played with the Patriots from 2010-2012.

While I could say it’s hard to make sense of this my initial reaction is that it makes a whole lot of sense.  I can’t imagine how much time Hernandez has had to think about his mistakes.  I also can’t put myself inside this guy’s head.  But what I can only assume is that Hernandez felt not only a ton of regret but the feeling that he’d rather die than spend another day in jail having to think about all of this on a constant basis.  I cannot fully say that I feel bad because look at what he did to Odin, but it would have been a better story had Hernandez been reformed and perhaps one day rejoined society as a better person who lived the rest of his life trying to do good.  Sadly that will never happen.