Aaron Hernandez after being
convicted of first degree murder
Former NFL star and multi-millionaire, Aaron Hernandez, was
convicted of first degree murder in the death of friend, Odin
Lloyd. In Boston, Massachusetts the first degree murder conviction constitutes an
automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Hernandez is also facing trial in a double murder that also
occurred in Massachusetts.
CNN did a report on the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
in Shirley, Massachusetts, where Hernandez will be housed for
the rest of his life and it's not pretty. As Hernandez is a
famous inmate, he will be segregated from the rest of the prison
population, placed in solitary confinement either temporarily or
indefinitely as the situation warrants it. Hernandez will spend
19-hours per day in a small cell with a small window.
Prison consultant Leslie Walker stated to CNN regarding
solitary confinement, "Solitary confinement is a kind of torture
that no one does well in. The lack of meaningful sensory
stimulus and contact drives people mad. Prison officials may
feel they have to put him there for his safety, but I hope not.
It's very hard time." It may seem harsh to some, but just
think about what the victims families are going through.
Once again, the Judiciary Report would like to implore the
site's
readers to stay on the straight and narrow path. Appreciate what you
have and make the best of your life and freedom. Work hard and
stay out of trouble.
STORY SOURCE
What prison life will be like
for Aaron Hernandez
Updated 11:01 PM ET, Thu April 16, 2015 - Prison life won't
be pretty for Aaron Hernandez, the NFL football player and
convicted murderer sentenced to life without parole. After
correction officers evaluate him, he will be shipped to
Massachusetts' flagship maximum-security prison, one of the most
high-tech jails in the United States with no history of
breakouts: the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley,
about 40 miles outside downtown Boston.
It's called Souza, for short, and it's the state's newest
prison, opened in 1998, with a matrix of 366 cameras recording
live 24 hours a day and a microwave detection perimeter with
taut wire. "I don't know the date, but he'll be going there. That's the
maximum-security facility," Department of Corrections spokesman
Darren Duarte said. Legal advocates for inmates describe Souza as sterile and
violent at once. Its diverse demographic includes the young and
the old, many of whom are also doing life. One stubborn problem
is that opiates are smuggled to inmates, the legal advocates
said...
The prison system has yet to determine where to initially
place Hernandez in Souza: solitary confinement; the less harsh
but restricted block; the general population; a privileged
section known as the "lifers block," for those serving a life
sentence; or the "kitchen block," for those who work in the
prison kitchen...
Even so, the cells are stark, small rooms of painted
cinder-block walls with metal fixtures: a bunk mounted to the
wall, a toilet and sink combination, a small writing shelf
attached to the wall, and a nearby small stool affixed to the
floor, Walker said. There's also a shelf for a small television, which must have
a clear back for easy inspection, Walker said. With the exception of the TV, which inmates can buy for under
$200, all furnishings are metal and bolted down to keep inmates
from throwing them, she said...
"There's very little to do," Walker said of inmate life. "It
was built as a punishment facility. The thing in corrections is
that you don't want people to like it there. Some people have
been there since it opened, and those people are excruciatingly
bored or scared or both."... "Solitary confinement is a kind of torture that no one does
well in. The lack of meaningful sensory stimulus and contact
drives people mad," Walker said. Initially, "prison officials may feel they have to put him
there for his safety, but I hope not," Walker said. "It's very
hard time."
