Gladiator Days: Anatomy of a Prison Murder

Across the United States, violent crime in prison is an everyday reality, with inmates routinely exposed to assault, riot, rape and murder.

Anatomy of a Prison Murder examines the culture of institutional violence through the events that led to one burtal prison murder. Utah State Prison surveillance cameras capture this disturbing real-life account of the vicious stabbing of black inmate Lonnie Blackmon by convicted murderer, white supremacist Troy Kell and his accomplice Eric Daniels.

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  1. It’s best not to commit horrific crimes if you don’t want to be treated badly in prison.

  2. Cambodia#100000$

  3. Duplicate comment detected; it looks asthough you’ve already saready said that!

  4. I am convinced the interview portion of this documentary is staged, with the part of Troy Kell being played by Brendan Fehr.

  5. I find it strange that he did not get shoot.

  6. Movie isn’t loading

  7. Wow great documentry..I feel for Troy becouse it really is true that if he did not get off on blackmon..You bet your ass Lonny was gonna get him..nly thing is i think Troy went overkill on Lonny he really did not to stab him so many times..Never the less Well done Troy in the prosess of saving your life he lonny lost his…

  8. Sharp man, intelligent???(previous blogs) He brought a gun to a situation where he agreed to beat up someone he didn’t know, who never wrong him. Personally, I believe he is an idiot, and a coward, and apparently he has a lot of company including the system that incarcerates him. A good documentary, with insight for those who can separate the wheat from the chaff!

  9. Well, he might be a violent thug, but he’s very smart. What he said about religion being a control mechanism is true. 
    I don’t agree with his position on separatism but he’s not wrong on every point. That’s a good example of what life is…There is no white and no black, just variations of grey. 

  10. How can you give a 15 year old girl life? And why all this gay shit in american prisons?

  11. So glad im not American!!!

  12. a great commentary on and example of the need for rehabilitation rather than punishment in prisons. a sharp mind gone to waste. 

  13. Lord have mercy on his soul.

  14. All I have to say is

    Suicide… bombers…. Yup Im pretty sure their leading in the most innocent lives taken department. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  15. You were right on one of your earlier posts. Something about being glad your not an American. You should be very happy. I live a great life here in America. But how are you to respond to a shooting victims families for calling her a “ho”. I think you are all over the place and changing your argument back and forth. You have given me things to think about and I will. Enjoy the rest of your day.
    God Bless ME this time 🙂
    Just a helpful hint, you are to angry. Life is short. Does not matter where in the world you live. Go for a walk, hug a loved one, hell..pet a dog! Please find some peace in your life. We are not bad people and no-one deserves to be murdered for no reason, yes I said that, no reason. We all live by the laws that govern our land and grow up within our cultures. I happen to be a proud American. I find it so sad that you find no pride, only ooze anger. I could go off about your country but do not want to judge a people by one lonley person. It’s been fun but now I’m getting bored with you.
    Go for a walk in the sun and take a nice deep breath and just smell the fresh air! I have a feeling you don’t get out much and it’s sad.
    bye bye

    • wow… that is crazy… i never said i was glad im not american… wtf? where did you get that from?… go on… scroll up and check… and wtf does ” But how are you to respond to a shooting victims families for calling her a “ho”” mean? r u saying i called the 9/11 baby who wanted to serve her country before she was shot by an american with his constitutional right, a Ho? wow… maybe i think you should hand in those guns of yours… seriously… im happy to leave it there… youre are obviously on drugs or have got me and this conversation confused with someone else you are argueing with….or something… and im angry? am i? aww and im not allowed to be? america and their fixation with aggression (military… guns… ) has killed so many innocent people… if you cant get angry at that doll then there is something very wrong with you… stop ignoring this fact and get angry and sad about it!…hand in your guns jen and ask one other person to do so as well… and *then* be proud… maybe then god will bless you… i cant see him doing it otherwise to a worshiper of a means of death (a gun) who is ok with innocent kids being shot to death… or at least GET FUCKING ANGRY ABOUT IT JEN!!! man its so obvious

      • GOD BLESS AMERICA
        LAND OF THE FREE TO CARRY GUNS AND SHOOT ASSHOLES WHO WHINE TOO MUCH

        • wow… those drugs really kicking in now Jen huh? its been a month… you been on a month long crack bender or something? how many people or animals have you killed in that time Jen? hey…the parents of Christina Taylor Green have been whineing Jen… about why their little 9/11 girl had to be shot to death by your constitutional right…i guess you will go and shoot them? or hope they will get shot to death? nice one… you are soooo scary…

  16. jt
    Funny how all this was ‘yawn’ & ‘I’ve seen it before’ now you are using that tragedy in Arizona for a platform.
    Got my gun.
    Have not killed anyone.
    God Bless America and god Bless You

    • Why americans like you love guns is of more interest and salience to a peaceful society than why americans go on multiple killing sprees. america leads the world in so many things and the world follows. your gun culture? world not following (hint hint). its your constitutional right, right? the right to bear arms? but youre not allowed a nuclear weapon? or are you? or is that something you would like? something youre working towards? lobbying your representative for… if he or she hasnt been shot to death? i guess youre not allowed nuclear weapons cos they kill too many to easily? like 6 dead in this latest effort is ok… right? acceptable? columbine? 12 dead? thats ok too i guess… i dont know why you again said god bless america god bless you? (im pretty sure just to annoy… and if you reply again you will continue to do it) but what does it actually mean? what are you saying here? you want america and me to have a good life? i guess no ever said that to the 9/11 baby who showed a desire to serve her country and was then shot to death by an american and his constitutional right huh? is it too late to say it to her now? (sorry i dont know how this works). lemme guess… god bless america and god bless you?

  17. bad things happen in a bad places the man who helped him was right if he was out of prison he would be leader of some kind of nazi mallitia

  18. Im glad im not Troy… well, Im glad im no American. I too, got kicked outa highschool, i TOO hang around with stoners all day, and I Too, once lured a nasty guy into the Dutch equivelant of a dessert to beat him up… I, however, did not bring a gun… You know why? Cause they are more illegal here then having your own cocaine farm. So thats the problem right there… Troy is not a weird guy… he’s exactly like all the guys on the planet… Give them a gun at a too young age and things go wrong.. The problem is the guns… How did he get that? Those things are no use for a peaceful country! that the army uses them; okay. that the police uses them; OKAY. but they should never be accesable to civilians. A young man, Who is similar to me… is wasting in prison, all because of that gun. That Cotton Kelly guy dead. all because of that gun. Without the gun, it wouldve been a beating and Cotton Kelly might have learned a valuable lesson in life. instead, He died and we lost the brains of Troy Kell to a failing ‘crime rehabilitation institue’. The right to bear arms is becoming the downfal of your youth… Young people, dont know the destructive power of a gun, and they dont think things thru. Eventho Troy eventually got what he deserved, It would be foolish, to deny that there were stimulating factors in his surrounding. I have, till this day, never seen a gun in real life…

    • I do not think your evaluation of the cause for murder is precise or that your conjectures are correct, for instance in lue of the firearm any inanimate object could be used to carry out a murder. To use your admittance of having once commited a similar offense bar the actualy murder, if you had, in a violent rage reached for a large stone and hit someone in the head with it you too could easily have become a murderer. However, I belive it is importat to remark upon the possible need to evaluate the impact that merely the legality of weaponry such as firearms has upon a society; does it leave it more aggressive and ready to use violence as would seem evident with the United States, or does it have no effect as would seem evident with Canada, who has more guns per person than the United States. So, in my humble opinion, I belive that surely having guns can’t help the situation however, the roots concerning a life bound for murderous acts can’t simply be found in the implement used. Best wishes.

      • not sure who if you are replying to me or not Daniel… but you are either sincere but stupidly have done your research on the NRA website… or are an actual member on the NRA spreading lies and prop…. you sound sincere to me but as soon as you said [peaceful]Canada has more guns per head than the [gun loving, militaristic, country invading] USA i obviously had to look that up… ( i think most people will stop taking you seriously at that point as well) check out wikipedia (as good a source as any right? anyway its the first site to appear… you can click on any tho) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_gun_ownership

        USA is (surprise surprise) No.1 ! good ol peaceful USA has almost twice as many firearms per head than (largely lawless) Yeman! who come in second. Canada? 13th place (figures are from 2007 but I cant see this as relevant… if anything, peaceful USA has probably stretched its guns per head of pop. lead over Canada… and probably Yeman come to think of it)

        now check this out Daniel

        http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir_percap-crime-murders-firearms-per-capita

        Murders committed with guns per head of pop.

        Again Canada is 12 places below peaceful USA.

        Moreover Daniel, if we put the actual figures from the two together you will see we get the following. USA has 3 times more guns than Canada but murders committed with guns is 5.6 times higher in USA than Canada. hmmmmmm….

        • Well, sir you are not taking all the other variables into account. The US has one of the highest immigration rates in the West, also an immense amount of illegals  from Mexico, Cuba, and so forth as we are far closer to them and have a much more moderate overall climate than say oh Canada. Also with the way the judicial system is ( and every judicial system is flawed so don’t even begin) it makes it easier for criminals who can pay $100,000 for a lawyer to get such and therefore be aquitted of the case. For you arrogance and sarcasm in referring to “peaceful USA” who the fuck ever said we were peaceful. Look at the Neo Nazis in Russia and the immense amount of street violence as minorities are being taped getting the sh*t kicked out of them, and left for dead. These acts, if you actually look into it, are comitted by more than one man…….SANS GUNS! Another note, anyone can post whatever they want on wikipedia, so how do I know you didn’t just make-up a Wiki page that stated such. I’m sure there were MUCH more reliable sources you could’ve looked into. And if you don’t want to take responsibility for your own goddamn actions and have your mother cut the crust off your bread because knives are sharp, then you can do that, but I can cut off my own goddamn crust without cutting myself. The availability of guns is yes, making the problem worse, but no it is not the source of the problem.

    • I respect the fact of the ‘traditional ass beating’. I also respect the gun. I am a proud American, very proud. I am also a gun owner. You are right as far as a gun in the hands of ANYONE, be young or old, who DO NOT KNOW the value of a life or the power of a weapon is a very big and real problem. With that being said, lets not put all gun owners together as the problem. I am 44 and got my 1st rifle at the age of 11. I have never killed anyone. I made it to middle school before being kicked out of the entire Baltimore City School system. I have never killed anyone. Please don’t put us all in the same pot. Be proud of who you are but don’t put American’s down.
      God Bless You and God Bless America.

      • God bless everyone… So no need to specify nations or individuals.
        If you feel I put Americans down, I’m afraid youve missunderstood me. That I’m not an American is just circumstantial. Meaning that if i was an American, I would’ve said the same thing.

        A responsible man or woman with a gun, is just fine. A policeman can have gun, because he is trained to handle it and use it responsibly. A soldier can too… But average Joe should not be able to have fire arms.

        For what can he possibly need it? Fight off Al-Quiada in his backyard? Stop comunism in Baltimore? Hunting for his dinner? No… It’s for one thing and one thing only: Killing other civilians. 

        Then they say: It’s for safety, It’s for self-defense… Well, If a burglar knows you have a gun, he’s gonna bring one too… If he’s certain you dont have one, He wont need one either. Burglars want money, so they wont spend a thousand dollars to get one via the blackmarket if he doesnt really need it.

        Some situations, it would be nice to have a gun. Like, you are taken hostage or you are surrounded by a pack of wolfs. But only 1 in 100000 people ever gets in such a situation in the ‘peacefull’ america. 

        If America is super duper peacefull, why do people need guns for self-defense? I know America is quite peacefull. But that makes the ‘self-defense’ argument even more ridiculous.

        If it was Iraq, Iran or some other forsaken place where the soldiers march the streets, i’d say: Give those civilians those guns. Give it to ’em and supply them with ammo. But this is America we’re talking about. A prosperous and educated country should have surpassed this point a long long time ago.

      • God bless everyone… So no need to specify nations or individuals.
        If you feel I put Americans down, I’m afraid youve missunderstood me. That I’m not an American is just circumstantial. Meaning that if i was an American, I would’ve said the same thing.

        A responsible man or woman with a gun, is just fine. A policeman can have gun, because he is trained to handle it and use it responsibly. A soldier can too… But average Joe should not be able to have fire arms.

        For what can he possibly need it? Fight off Al-Quiada in his backyard? Stop comunism in Baltimore? Hunting for his dinner? No… It’s for one thing and one thing only: Killing other civilians. 

        Then they say: It’s for safety, It’s for self-defense… Well, If a burglar knows you have a gun, he’s gonna bring one too… If he’s certain you dont have one, He wont need one either. Burglars want money, so they wont spend a thousand dollars to get one via the blackmarket if he doesnt really need it.

        Some situations, it would be nice to have a gun. Like, you are taken hostage or you are surrounded by a pack of wolfs. But only 1 in 100000 people ever gets in such a situation in the ‘peacefull’ america. 

        If America is super duper peacefull, why do people need guns for self-defense? I know America is quite peacefull. But that makes the ‘self-defense’ argument even more ridiculous.

        If it was Iraq, Iran or some other forsaken place where the soldiers march the streets, i’d say: Give those civilians those guns. Give it to ’em and supply them with ammo. But this is America we’re talking about. A prosperous and educated country should have surpassed this point a long long time ago.

      • God bless that gun owner in arizona or the 6 people he killed two days ago… including a 9/11 baby ?
        the gun culture is what is most fucked about america (and that is saying something)… its got to the point with me that another shooting incident in america means nothing to me and im pissed off that news shows cover it as they could be covering anything else… 6 people dead? including a 9/11 girl? yawn… same old same old… boring… wheres the next one going to happen? if america was anti gun and this shit happened it would be of interest to me… this latest one in arizona surprised me how much i didnt care any more… change your ways or keep killing yourselves (lol) but dont waste time covering it etc… ohhh the gun man left online messages before the attack… ohhh wow… what!?! thats just what you do these days… its not news!! what, is there going to be alot of head scratching and analysis now about how a person could do this? is it kind of a challenge in america to try and work out how we can avoid this happening but still keep a pro gun culture? is it like a little game? boring! lose the guns or move on!

        • God Bless America, even you.

          • if that saying wasnt so common place and banal in america it might actually mean something… you cant be militaristic psycho’s totally comfortable with mass killings of innocents “cos they just casualties of war” “those little kids just got in the way”… and then say “hey god bless america!…yeeehaaa” how can anyone not see that situation is wrong on every level… look… the guy in Arizona is a mini america… his target an evil dictator that must go… his actions a war… the 9/11 baby who had an interest in public service for her country?? oh um… well she just got in the way i guess… one of them casualties of war… but like all casualties of war it was worth it huh? the whole thing is a mini US history repeats… and to keep the analogy going you will sit there and watch this happen on your tv and say… “God Bless Jared Loughner” (thats the shooter guy… or? thats right… America). Look at that little girl and say “God Bless Jared Loughner”; go to the little girls parents and say “God Bless Jared Loughner”. Are you getting any of this? im really trying to drum it into you. i suspect in vain tho. You got your gun… and thats all you want huh? you can keep your ‘god blesses’… but thanks for not shooting me i guess… (have you killed anything since you first wrote on here btw?)

  19. Dude looks just like James Franco.

  20. its unbelievable how much time and money is wasted in america on trials. Justice is important, maybe the most important thing(?).. but wtf was there a trial for the second murder (??) its out of control and as damaging as systems with sham justice… this freak is still alive and just got married on 12 dec 2010… unbelievable

  21. its unbelievable how much time and money is wasted in america on trials. Justice is important, maybe the most important thing(?).. but wtf was there a trial for the second murder (??) its out of control and as damaging as systems with sham justice… this freak is still alive and just got married on 12/10/10… unbelievable

  22. lay, this one was awesome!

  23. Anyone else get the feeling the girl was involved? “They had me pretend to fall down..” “A plan THEY had come up with”. He was really in love with her as well, I think it seems plausible he took all the blame for her.

  24. troy kell remained a man. respect him for that.

    • Troy Kell is a man.
      Troy Kell is a man who should be executed for the murder on this doc.
      Troy Kell is a man who had promise and I would hope, had dreams.
      Troy Kell is a man….or is he?