RB Maurice Clarett (B1G Freshman of the Year, National Champion)

[jwinslow]

Maurice Clarett blogging from prison, taking college classes - ESPN

Updated: March 3, 2009, 10:15 AM ET
Clarett hoping blog inspires others

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett writes that he's blogging from prison so others will learn from his wrong decisions.

The tailback who led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship is in the Toledo Correctional Institution on his 2006 conviction for aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

"There's no need to talk to a reporter these days. I am my own newspaper. I am my own editor. I am my own censor. I am able to put things into the proper context," he writes in an entry dated Feb. 28. "I am able to control the content and I am educated enough to accurately express myself. I am able to distinguish to people in a unique fashion that football is just something that I do. Football is not Maurice Clarett."

"Instead of entertaining people with my life, I am using certain events to educate, inspire and help others make conscious choices so they can avoid circumstances like this. It is easy to say that I messed up my life and show pictures while creating a storyline for entertainment, but it does nothing for humanity as a whole," Clarett writes. "That's good for water cooler conversation, but it does nothing for the young men who didn't make it to the NFL and have no future in college and are looking to the streets for an outlet.

"Time in prison was necessary due to my actions but it's my personal belief that I can use my celebrity to assist more people in so many creative ways that I've come up with than to occupy this cell at $25K per year," he writes.

Clarett doesn't have computer access in prison. His mother tells The Columbus Dispatch he phones the blog entries to relatives, who post them.

 

[Maurice Clarett]

The Mind of Maurice Clarett

Is it possible that there is no thread about this?
The Mind of Maurice Clarett

I searched, but found nothing. Sorry if this is a repost.

Eleven Warriors ? Maurice Clarett, Blogger

 

[jwinslow]

clarett has his own thread.

 

[mross34]

clarett has his own thread.

It's locked.

 

[BB73]

It's locked.

But his blog has already been posted in there, in the Alumni forum.

 

[Buckskin86]

May 26, 2009
Inside the Mind of Maurice Clarett
By Toni Monkovic

?I am much more than a ball player and prisoner of the state.?

If you?re like me and have set the expectations bar at the lowest possible rung for Maurice Clarett, you may be surprised by what you?re about to read.

He?s in prison. He has made a shambles of his life. His football career is probably over. You have every right to be a skeptic as you read his entries.

And yet ?.

Something seems to have sunk in, and he?s able to express that awakening quite powerfully. He has the potential to inspire others.

Is the change real? He is set to be released early next year. At that point, proof will be required.

In the meantime, judge for yourself. Here are some recent excerpts from The Mind of Maurice Clarett:

The more I continue to educate myself with these two classes I am currently taking, the more alive I feel. I am now in constant search of things that stimulate me intellectually.

I got my first assignment back from my philosophy class and I earned my first A. I know it is nothing but my first assignment but I am happy I put my work in to earn it. There were no mentors, tutors, classmates or assistance from anyone but me.

I know I speak about a lot of positive things most of the time but allow me to switch gears and be VERY straightforward for a second. This prison thing isn?t cool by any measure. Anyone who glorifies prison is an idiot. Anyone who thinks that coming to prison solidifies their manhood is a fool. This is not the place to come and earn respect. I live here, I know. I live with the ?lifers.? I haven?t met one yet who thinks this is cute.

I can?t hold these feelings in anymore. I want to play football again. I have a deep desire to play. I love the game.

I cannot accept how things ended. I won?t accept how they ended. I am 220, rock solid. I am moving swift, running fast, and jumping high. My mind is right and my life is in order. I am 25 but I feel like I am 18. I am still young. I am not a statistic. I am still here and I am still living. I didn?t and won?t give up. I am a winner. I am optimistic. I am inspirational. I am alive.

Inside the Mind of Maurice Clarett - The Fifth Down Blog - NYTimes.com

Will Maurice Clarett attempt a comeback? We told you about the connection with the NFL and President Barack Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court Justice, and how Sotomayer was on the Court of Appeals that ruled against Maurice Clarett's move to enter the NFL after his sophomore year at Ohio State.

Well, it appears Clarett is still thinking about football. And after reading one of his latest blog posts (he writes a blog from prison, where he is serving 3 1/2 years on robbery and illegal weapons possession), it wouldn't be a surprise if he attempts a comeback when he is released. Clarett was given a 3 1/2-year sentence in September, 2006, and will theoretically be freed in time for the 2010 season.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/football/bob_blog/2009/05/will_maurice_clarett_attempt_a.html

http://mauriceclarett.wordpress.com/2009/05/25/how-i’m-feeling/

 

[Buckskin86]

Maurice Clarett seeks clemency
By Laura Bischoff | Thursday, June 18, 2009

Former Ohio State University football star Maurice Clarett is asking Gov. Ted Strickland for clemency so he can get out of prison early and take a shot at being a motivational speaker or return to football on either an arena or Canadian professional team.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O?Brien opposed Clarett?s request in a two-page letter sent to Strickland and Ohio Parole Board Chairwoman Cynthia Mausser on Thursday, June 18.

Clarett, 25, is serving a 7 1/2 year sentence for aggravated robbery at Toledo Correctional Institution. Sentenced in September 2006, Clarett has yet to serve the mandatory three years of the sentence, O?Brien said.

The prosecutor noted that while out on bond awaiting trial in the armed robbery case, Clarett was arrested after a police chase.

?He had an AK-47 with 30 live rounds in the magazine and three pistols in his vehicle, and was wearing a Kevlar bullet-proof vest?an open bottle of Grey Goose vodka and a hatchet,? O?Brien told Strickland. ?Those facts do not suggest the kind of conduct that warrants the intervention of executive clemency.?

Clarett?s application for clemency is under review by the Parole Board, according to prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Culp.

Dayton Daily News | Dayton, Ohio, News and Information

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Documentary in the works

Thanks to FairfaxBuckeye for the link

 

[Buckskin86]

Clarett asks to get out of prison early
Friday, June 19, 2009
By Bruce Cadwallader
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has asked the governor to let him out of prison after having served less than half of his 7 1/2 -year sentence.

He applied to the Ohio Adult Parole Authority and Gov. Ted Strickland on April 15 for a "pardon, commutation or reprieve" of his 2006 convictions for aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

The request became public yesterday when Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien announced that he opposes it and that Clarett wants out of prison so he can attempt to play football again.

Later, Clarett's attorney, Percy Squire, said Clarett has reconsidered the request and might withdraw it.

"An initial inquiry was made, but at this time we are not actively pursuing clemency," Squire said. "There has been some subsequent concerns whether this is the course of conduct Maurice Clarett wants to pursue."

He would not elaborate or say when Clarett changed his mind. Clarett, incarcerated in Toledo, has not addressed the request in recent postings to his blog, The Mind of Maurice Clarett.

Clarett, now 25, helped lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship as a freshman. His downward spiral began when he was suspended before his sophomore season for NCAA rules violations. After an unsuccessful attempt to turn pro that involved suing the NFL, he was arrested twice in 2006, leading to his time in prison.

In the letter Squire sent state officials, which O'Brien released, Clarett asked for clemency so he can pursue "meaningful activities, which by reason of his experiences and personal history, he is in a unique position to share with others."

But O'Brien said that Clarett wants to pursue a career as a motivational speaker and to try to return to football, possibly with an arena team or in the Canadian Football League.

Since the request was received, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections has been looking into Clarett's activities in prison and notified O'Brien on Tuesday, spokeswoman Jo Ellen Culp said. She said Clarett hasn't had any disciplinary problems.

The next steps would be a hearing before the parole board, which would make a recommendation to Strickland. The department has not heard from Squire and is proceeding with the request, Culp said.

A governor's pardon would expunge the conviction. A commutation would let the conviction stand but change the sentence. Either would let Clarett out of prison immediately. But such a move would be unprecedented. A spokeswoman said Strickland has commuted only two sentences, both from death to life in prison.

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Clarett asks to get out of prison early

 

[Buckskin86]

Clarett withdraws request for clemency or pardon
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
By Bruce Cadwallader
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Maurice Clarett

Maurice Clarett has officially withdrawn his request for clemency or a governor's pardon.

The former Ohio State running back is serving a 7 1/2-year sentence for robbery and gun convictions but had filed a motion with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in April asking Gov. Ted Strickland for a pardon.

A pardon would have released Clarett immediately from prison, but applications must be vetted by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.

A spokeswoman for the state prison department said today that Clarett's attorney withdrew the request on Monday.

In his application, Clarett said he hoped to leave prison early to earn money as a public speaker and possibly resume a football career in Canada or the NFL.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien opposed the request, saying that because of Clarett's conduct off the playing field, he didn't deserve special consideration.

"My observation was then and is now he had no chance of obtaining clemency under the statute or by action of the governor, so it's probably wise" that he withdrew the request, O'Brien said.

Clarett, 25, an inmate at the Toledo Correctional Institution, pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. The charges stemmed from a chain of events that began with an armed robbery on Jan. 1, 2006, and ended about seven months later when he was arrested wearing a bulletproof vest with four weapons in his car less than a mile from one of the robbery victims.

Clarett may still apply for judicial release later this year from Common Pleas Judge David W. Fais.

In his blog from prison, Clarett said Monday:

"I'm a man and I struggle. I'm not speaking of anything specific. I'm just talking in general. Depression comes and depression goes. Inspiring thoughts come and they flee as fast as they come. Sometimes my spirit is in balance and at others it runs wild. I'm not afraid. I just get a little confused at times. I know which way is up and I know how to identify a weasel from a mile away. I know who I love and I know why I love them. I don't claim to be omniscient but I do claim to be a survivor of the urban circumstances and experiences. Sometimes I think I've cheated or dodged my fate. Old thoughts often tackle my emotions and leave me paralyzed momentarily. Does anyone know what it feels like to be stuck mentally for days on end? Depressing thoughts are the invisible weight we all hate to carry but at times is inevitable. Above all, I shall continue to cruise along on this dry land doing whatever my heart desires. My effort in anything I've ever done has never been in question. It has just been my aim. I personally believe that I've been aiming too low. A body and mind full of endless possibilities that I cannot and will not waste it back here.

I'm Youngstown's own."

The Columbus Dispatch : Clarett withdraws request for clemency or pardon

 

[Buckskin86]

Counseling Clarett
Among the inmates he met with at the Toledo prison was former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, who is serving a 7 1/2-year sentence for aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. Clarett, now 26, helped lead Ohio State to a national championship in 2003.

Fletcher said he's a big Buckeyes fan, but he didn't meet with Clarett to talk football. "Football is the reason he got locked up because no one ever tells you no," Fletcher said. "My thing was to say you're greater than your mistake."

He said the two of them found common ground. Their fathers weren't around much as they were growing up. Both are fathers themselves - Clarett has a daughter; Fletcher has three sons. Clarett grew up wanting to be like his older brother; Fletcher wanted to be like an older cousin who sold drugs.

"It was like a breath of fresh air for him. I took him books. A lot of times I was just letting him vent, so sometimes I was just a good listener," Fletcher recalled.

toledoblade.com --

 

[Buckskin86]

Ex-Ohio State star Maurice Clarett seeks release from prison

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ? Former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett is again seeking early release from prison.

Clarett, who scored the winning touchdown for the Buckeyes in the 2002 national title game, has filed a motion asking a judge to release him. No court date has been set.

Clarett, who wishes to pursue a football career, withdrew a similar request filed with the Ohio Parole Board last year.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Tuesday he'll wait for a prison report on Clarett's conduct before deciding whether to support or oppose early release.

Clarett pleaded guilty in September 2006 to having a hidden gun in his sport-utility vehicle and holding up two people outside a Columbus bar in a separate case. He was sentenced to 7? years in prison with possible release in 3? years.

Ex-Ohio State star Maurice Clarett seeks release from prison - USATODAY.com

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Fletcher said he's a big Buckeyes fan, but he didn't meet with Clarett to talk football. "Football is the reason he got locked up because no one ever tells you no," Fletcher said. "My thing was to say you're greater than your mistake."

toledoblade.com --

No, dipshit, he got locked up because he was a fucking head case...hopefully the time behind bars has helped him get his shit in one sock.

 

[Buckskin86]

Court to hear Clarett's request for early release in April
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett will be brought back from prison April 7 for a hearing to decide his request for early release from a 7-year prison term.

Clarett has served more than three years of his sentence for aggravated robbery and gun convictions from September 2006. He will appear before Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David W. Fais. At the time of his convictions, prosecutors said they would not oppose such a release should Clarett receive a favorable prison report.

Fais has requested a report from Clarett's warden, court records show. If released, Clarett would be required to spend up to six months in a local facility and complete a term of probation. If denied, he could remain in prison until 2014

Court to hear Clarett's request for early release in April | BuckeyeXtra

 

[BUKEsqBuck]

Motions for Judicial Release in Ohio

In my experience as an Ohio lawyer it is a very good sign indeed when the court actually sets a hearing in these matters (they are wholly discretionary and can be denied with the stroke of a pen or left to languish on a desk for seemingly forever). Additionally I had the opportunity to visit with MoC at TCI and understood him to be doing well and in good standing with everyone I came into contact with at the facility.

:osu: