Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse Media
April 21, 2017
Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s death in a Massachusetts
prison has been ruled a suicide. Hernandez had been serving a life sentence
without parole for a 2013 murder.
A former member of the New England Patriots, Hernandez’s
death came five days after a jury acquitted him in two other deaths, which
prosecutors alleged were precipitated by a spilled drink.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told ESPN.com, “Anytime
someone kills themselves in prison, something clearly went wrong,″ adding that
he wasn’t drawing any conclusions until the full details of the investigation
were released.
Rarely do governors take the time to comment on the death of
an inmate. If they did, governors would spend an awful lot of time on the
subject. The most recent statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that 4,446 inmates died while in custody in 2013.
Suicide is a problem is jails and prisons across the
country. Suicide has been the leading cause of death in jails every year since
2000. In 2013, a third (34 percent) of jail inmate deaths were due to suicide.
The suicide rate increased 14 percent, from 40 suicides per 100,000 jail
inmates in 2012 to 46 per 100,000 in 2013. A far cry from the 129 suicides per
100,000 inmates in 1983.
Deaths by suicide in prison are far higher than the number
of deaths that result from suicide in the general population -- which is only
about 1.6 percent. Jeremy Samuel Faust wrote this week in Slate, “It is no
exaggeration to say that when a person becomes incarcerated, what the inmate
should fear the most is not a skirmish with the leader of some terrifying gang,
but what might happen to his own mind.”
There are two primary causes for jail suicide according to
the National Institute of Corrections -- first, jail environments are conducive
to suicidal behavior and, second, the inmate is facing a crisis situation.
Certain features of the jail environment enhance suicidal
behavior -- fear of the unknown, distrust of the authoritarian environment,
lack of apparent control over the future, isolation from family and significant
others, shame of incarceration, and the dehumanizing aspects of incarceration.
In addition, certain factors often found in inmates could
predispose them to suicide -- a history of excessive drinking, drug use and
mental illness. These factors become exacerbated during the first 24 hours of
incarceration, when the majority of jail suicides occur. In addition, many jail
suicide victims are young. Neither of which appear to apply to Hernandez -- he
was 27-years-old and had been incarcerated for 4 years.
These issues are compounded by the fact that many inmates
have poor coping and problem-solving skills, rendering them unable to deal with
difficult emotions. Additionally, according to Corrections.com, many have a
history of behaving impulsively -- doing things on the spur of the moment
without thinking ahead to the consequences of their actions. Clearly, Hernandez
appeared to fall into the categories of poor coping skills and impulsivity.
There are warning signs as well, and Hernandez may have
displayed some. The Associated Press described Hernandez during his trial as
upbeat, constantly backslapping his lawyers, letting out bellowing laughs and
blowing kisses to family members in the courtroom.
An indicator of suicidal plans is often a sudden calmness.
Many individuals who are contemplating suicide have a sense of resignation that
can result in them acting very calm and even peaceful in the days leading up to
their suicide.
Hernandez’s life was a story of tragedy, anguish and pain
for so many people. Maybe his death will bring awareness to the toll of prison
suicide.
-- Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010 was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
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