Unnecessary roughness cover

Unnecessary roughness

by Jose Baez

"When renowned defense attorney Jose Baez received a request for representation from Aaron Hernandez, the disgraced Patriots tight end was already serving a life sentence for murder. Defending him in a second, double-murder trial seemed like a lost cause--but Baez accepted the challenge, and their partnership culminated in a dramatic courtroom victory, a race to contest his first conviction, and ultimately a tragedy, when Hernandez took his own life days after his acquittal. This riveting, closely-observed account of Hernandez's life and final year is the only book based on countless intimate conversations with Hernandez, and told from the perspective of a true insider. Written with the support of Hernandez's fiancée, Unnecessary Roughness takes readers inside the high-profile trial, offering a dramatic retelling of the race to obtain key evidence that would exonerate Hernandez, and later play a critical role in appealing his first conviction. With revelations about his client's personal life that weren't shared at trial, and an exploration of stunning the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy diagnosis revealed by his autopsy, Jose Baez's Unnecessary Roughness is a startling courtroom drama and an unexpected portrait of a fallen father, fiancé, and teammate."--Jacket.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?