The former N.F.L. running back Lawrence Phillips was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his cellmate at a central California prison. Phillips is accused of killing Damion Soward, 37, at Kern Valley State Prison in April.
Phillips, 40, was once one of the nation’s top college football players, at Nebraska. He played for the St. Louis Rams, the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers during a three-year N.F.L. career. He is already serving a sentence of more than 31 years. He was convicted of choking his girlfriend and later of driving his car into three teenagers after a pickup football game.