Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his prison cellmate.
Phillips, who is currently serving a 31-year sentence at Kern Valley State Prison for crimes including auto theft, assault with a deadly weapon and spousal abuse, is accused of murdering a convicted murderer named Damion Soward. Authorities say Soward (a cousin of former NFL player R. Jay Soward) was strangled in the cell he shared with Phillips.
The 40-year-old Phillips is not facing the death penalty but could be sentenced to life in prison.
Off-field problems have always overshadowed Phillips’s career, dating to his days as a college star at Nebraska.