Aaron Hernandez Still Has His Swagger, Reported Placed on Suicide Watch

Image courtesy of Zimbio

Having been convicted in Massachusetts of first-degree murder on Wednesday, infamous former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, and noted killing enthusiast, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The victim was semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd, a man who considered Hernandez a friend when he was shot six times on a very late night back in June 2013. Loyd’s body was left in desolate industrial park not far from the home of Hernandez.

When the verdict was announced this week, there was an outpouring of emotion in the courtroom; members of both the Lloyd and Hernandez families wept, but for entirely different reasons. Though they did have one thing in common: both had lost a young man in his prime.

The person who looked the least invested as the verdict was read, oddly enough, was the convicted man himself. Once a superstar on the rise and now a permanent guest of the state, Hernandez’s reaction looked to be a jarring mix of boredom and annoyance.

After he was sentenced, Hernandez was transported to MCI Cedar Junction, which is where he will be housed indeterminately until being transferred to a permanent prison. According to jail guards who alleged to have had contact with the convicted murderer during transport, he was anything but concerned or contrite.

“When he left the court after his sentence he still had his, according to my staff, his swagger, but it’s not surprising with him,” Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson told the Boston Herald. “He told our people, ‘Look, they’re wrong and I’ll miss you guys.”

Speaking about his interactions with Hernandez, Hodgson didn’t hold back. The Sheriff said that Hernandez is one of the most manipulative inmates he’s ever come across, using both his supposed charm and celebrity status to get anything he needs. Hodgson took it a step further, noting the convicted murderer has “sociopathic issues.”

All of which seems to jive with the way Hernandez has conducted himself, not only throughout the trial, but the entire ordeal. Though it was reported by TMZ Sports on Friday that Hernandez has been placed on suicide watch, despite not offering any additional details as to his state of mind or why he would be classified as a suicide risk.

Even so, aside from being monitored 24-hours a day by prison officials and living in a stripped down cell, the change likely won’t come as that much of a shock to his system. Hernandez has been living in isolation since being arrested in 2014, separated from the general inmate population for his own protection.

That being said, it’s hard to imagine someone who thinks as much of himself as Hernandez would consider offing himself. With another trial on the horizon, this one for a double homicide in Boston, it’s become abundantly clear that this is a man who seems to sincerely enjoy murdering people—even more than he enjoyed playing football.

But killing himself? Nah man! Hernandez would be more likely to kill a dozen more people in prison before taking his own life.