An exclusive report from CNN has revealed some shocking details on Aaron Hernandez’s prison stay, suggesting that the former New England Patriots tight end had a lengthy disciplinary record during his stay at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.
Earlier today, CNN revealed exclusive details from Aaron Hernandez’s prison discipline record, which the news network obtained via public records request. The files suggest that the troubled ex-NFL player, whose April 19 death was ruled a suicide, had gotten into three fistfights, two cigarette smoking-related incidents, two unauthorized prison tattoos, and possession of a sharpened metal shiv that measured close to six inches. Counting all other offenses Hernandez had reportedly committed, he was involved in “about a dozen” separate incidents while incarcerated.
One of the fights in question was previously reported on by CNN but didn’t directly involve Hernandez, who was allegedly serving as a lookout. On May 17, 2015, Hernandez was spotted on surveillance video “entering and exiting the cell” repeatedly, as two supposed members of rival gangs settled their differences in a fistfight. And while he would subsequently plead guilty to fighting and disruptive conduct, Aaron Hernandez’s prison record was continuously updated with new offenses, including one on August 20, 2015, where he reportedly punched another prisoner after being transferred to a new housing unit.
“Video surveillance showed the inmate attempted to shake his hand. But Hernandez struck the inmate with closed fist punches to the face, and they engaged in a fight that had to be broken up by chemical agent.”
While this suggests that the inmate was trying to be friendly to a newcomer to the housing unit like Hernandez was, prison records suggest that both men were “known to feud with each other” while behind bars.
Hernandez’s third disciplinary entry for fighting was logged on June 10, 2016, when he had gotten into a fistfight with another inmate outside their cell. This resulted in Hernandez’s family and friends being denied visitation rights for 45 days, as well as five days’ worth of disciplinary detention and removal from the housing unit.
Separate from the above incidents was another entry in Aaron Hernandez’s prison record, where he was found to be carrying a “shiv” – a sharpened piece of metal with a handle made of cloth, measuring close to six inches in length.
Police found Aaron Hernandez with “John 3:16” written in ink on his forehead and in blood on the wall of his cell. https://t.co/4liEImVgLm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 5, 2017
Other notable incidents on the prison record suggest that Hernandez had violated policy by getting two tattoos on his neck, including one with the words “Lifetime Loyalty” that was visible to onlookers when he made a court appearance on May 21, 2015. He was also involved in two smoking-related incidents, including one on July 24 of that year where he was caught on video smoking a homemade cigarette with another inmate. More than one year later, Hernandez was strip-searched and found to be carrying a prison-made lighter.
The CNN report on Aaron Hernandez’s prison disciplinary record adds to a growing number of reports detailing the years he spent in prison before killing himself last month at the age of 27. Earlier this week, TMZ wrote that Hernandez had used blood to write the Bible verse “John 3:16” on the walls of his jail cell and on his forehead prior to hanging himself. This verse, as a separate Yahoo Sports report suggests, may have been a sign that he had become “increasingly spiritual” in the lead-up to his death.
The Inquisitr has also reported on Aaron Hernandez’s alleged prison “lover” Kyle Kennedy , to whom he had purportedly addressed a suicide note. While rumors regarding Kennedy’s relationship with Hernandez have yet to be corroborated and have also been strongly disputed by the ex-NFL star’s legal counsel, the latest on Kennedy suggests that the 22-year-old convicted armed robber has been on “suicide watch” since Hernandez died.
[Featured Image by Stephan Savoia/AP Images]
