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Video: Michael Marin Appears to Take Poison Pill After Being Found Guilty of Arson
Shortly after a Phoenix court found him guilty of arson on Thursday, 53-year-old Michael Marin died in what appears to have been suicide by poison pill.
In video that has emerged showing Marin before, during and following the verdict announcement, he can clearly be seen running his hand over his mouth after the ruling was handed down – making it appear as though he put something in.
Shortly thereafter he started coughing, collapsed to the floor and began to convulse. He was immediately transported to a hospital – but there was nothing they could do.
He died some time later.
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jeff Sprong later confirmed that it looked as though Marin had digested something after hearing the verdict.
Here is a closer look (via The Daily Mail):
Marin was found guilty on Thursday of burning down Biltmore Estates, a $3.5 million mansion, in July 2009. He apparently did the deed because he couldn’t afford payments on the home and wanted to collect the insurance payout.
He was facing 10 to 21 years in prison.
(Kudos ABC, The Daily Mail)
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Comments
How did he get a poison pill?
How did he get a poison pill? Aren't the accused searched before being transported to court?
for weapons. That's it.
for weapons. That's it.
That still doesn't answer how
That still doesn't answer how he got the pill. In Maricopa County, where I used to live, the policy is to strip search every person as part of the booking process. But maybe he was out on bail and had access then? It doesn't really matter unless someone connected with the court system, such as an attorney or a deputy provided the pill.
If I were to guess, he was
If I were to guess, he was out on some kind of bail until his sentence. I'm not exactly going to research it, since It seems like he's taking a coward's way out. Even so, I'm still curious where he was able to get a poison pill of some sort...
Or perhaps it was a normal pill and he had a deadly reaction to it? I don't know how quickly allergies to medicine act, nor how violently a person can react to a medicine.
It is sad, but I think it
It is sad, but I think it says a whole lot more about him than about anything else.
Well, Marin sentenced himself
Well, Marin sentenced himself to death for his crime (and probably fear of going to prison) and thankfully he has saved taxpayers a lot of money that won't be needed for his incarceration. However, it is telling that something is wrong with corrections facilities if a convicted felon fears for his life. I think the Russian model of correction facilities, like the Black Dolphin Prison would be the best way to handle these felons.
In America we have a deep and
In America we have a deep and abiding fixation on making sure people we see as guilty suffer as much as possible. The actual reforming of the prisoner so they can be a contributing member of society isn't just a second-tier goal, it's actually discouraged.
Many of us laugh and joke at the prospect of people getting raped in prison, even if they are in there for something small and non-violent. 1 in 4 women in America can expect a sexual assault or rape in their life, yet for the last several years men make up the larger portion of rape victims in America due to the incidence of prison rape.