The month before Lawrence Phillips allegedly murdered his cellmate at Kern Valley (Calif.) State Prison, he wrote a letter to his mother saying he thought his anger might lead to his death or someone else's death.
"I feel myself very close to snapping,'' wrote Phillips, the former star running back, in a letter dated March 5, 2015. "My anger grows daily as I have become fed up with prison. I feel my anger is near bursting and that will result in my death or the death of someone else.''
In the same letter, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports from Phillips' mother, Phillips expressed disgust for the legal system and wrote, "These people are obviously working against me with no regard to the law'' and "will never let me leave prison alive.