Certainly, my ties as a former journalist make me well aware of the rules when talking about a crime yet to be tried, about a defendant yet to be found guilty. The lessons from J school 101 resound in my head: don't convict someone with a headline (like I just did) and be sure to build layers upon layers of outs into your sentences when talking about someone convicted of a crime. See: allegedly, alleged, charged with, etc.
Now though, I'm a blogger, and as such my facts don't exist, my medium is speculation. So there's a lot out there about former (he was released as soon as he was charged) Patriots tight end Aaron Hernanez, and allow me to summarize:
Hernandez is charged with murder 1. That's not the crime of passion, get out on bail in 7 years, killed someone on accident murder. That's the pre-planned, calculated, cold and remorseless go to jail for the rest of your life murder.
Facts are now surfacing that the reason he (ALLEGEDLY) killed this guy was possibly to cover up two other gun murders he previous committed.
Here's my question. If we are looking at three murder 1 charges, in addition to the bevy of lesser gun charges, at what point do we start talking about capital punishment? If he planned to kill and carried out three murders, one of them execution style like it was from some bad mafia movie, it speaks to a serial killer with a remorseless conviction that he is above the law.
Why would he feel that way? Because there's a lot of precedent for it.
Let's face it, when it comes to high profile murder cases, the judicial branch of government in this country has egg on its face over the last several years. Add to the fact that this is escalated even more so with professional athletes, particularly football players that seem to receive special treatment under the law.
Obviously that starts with O.J. Simpson. We all know the story and I don't feel the need to rehash it, but what it basically came down to was someone dropped the ball, or Johnny Cochrain is a wordsmith genius, or something happened where this guy who was clearly guilty got away with killing his wife and her associate. He came out with a book that was literally titled "If I did it," Detailing how he 'would' have killed his wife 'if' he had in fact killed her.
Ray Lewis, for all his great speeches and squirrel dances over the last 15 years started his career in a similar circumstance as Hernandez: the victims blood was in his limo and he got away with little more than a slap on the wrist. (Fascinating details about this case, by the way, Grantland did a phenomenal job of this recently, check that out here:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/47958/remembering-the-ray-lewis-controversy).
Lesser known, but Leonard Little, a defensive end for the Rams in the 2000s, killed a woman while driving drunk and, received a second DWI not only was allowed to continue playing but was rewarded with multi million dollar contract extensions. Cowboys DT Josh Brent killed a teammate last year in a drunk driving car wreck, failed a drug test LAST WEEK and is still on the roster.
Need I mention Casey Anthony (who represents a different issue of America's obsession with pretty woman killers, but that's another rant that I go on sometimes), it would have seemed, killed her little girl and got away with it.
The point is I believe the justice system, a system designed specifically around finding the truth and pursuing justice in light of that truth, has been made a mockery of with these murder cases. The precedent says we will find the truth and get to the bottom of the issues under due process of the law.
Unless you've been to a pro bowl. Unless you're a millionaire.
Over my career I've known a few a judges, a few state prosecutors. These are some of the most intelligent people I know. Ego isn't the right word, and I wouldn't necessarily call it pride either, but when you think about it, in that line of work it is your job to think about, argue for, decide, and ultimately be right. I think whoever is going to deliberate on this case is very, very aware of the current history in the NFL regarding murder trials.
Without all the if's, and including all the assumption on the other side of those if's. We are dealing with the most serious law we hold as a society. If Hernandez is guilty of all three premeditated murders, he deserves to be punished to the maximum extent of the law. The precedent needs to be corrected, no more loop holes, no more clever word games, set that regardless of your talent or your money, you do not get away with killing another human being in this country.
**The preceding is the personal opinion of Joel Gerber and Hammertime Sports.
