Richie Hanlon

Richie Hanlon is a fictional character on the TV show Oz portrayed by Jordan Lage.

Character overview

"Prisoner #98H426. Convicted June 3, 1998 - Possession and distribution of a substance. Sentence: Eight years, up for parole in five. Convicted in 1998 of two counts of Murder in the first degree and sentenced to death. Death sentence overturned."

A former drug dealer, he is imprisoned when one of his customers accidentally overdoses. Because he is gay, the Aryan Brotherhood members routinely rape him, thinking he likes it. He is later murdered upon release from death row.

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Hanlon is one of the inmates let back into Em City as a part of Tim McManus' strategy to unify all the prison groups. Inside he represents the Homosexuals at the council meetings. He later hears inmate Miguel Alvarez laughing about the rape of Warden Leo Glynn's daughter and knowing the people who committed it. Hanlon, sickened by the rape of an innocent woman, tells Father Ray Mukada what he has heard, who in turn immediately informs Warden Glynn. Glynn questions Alvarez, who says he knowns nothing about the rape. Later, Hanlon finds Justin Appel and the other Aryan inmates inside his cell. They demand oral sex from him. As he is performing oral sex on Mark Mack, he is told that they murdered Alexander Vogel. When he is casually propositioned by another inmate who observed the encounter, Richie punches him and accidentally knocks him him over the railing, killing him. Unit Manager Tim McManus tells him he'll be charged with murder and has a hard time believing that Richie was threatened with rape. Richie then tries to cut a deal with the authorities informing them about the Aryans killing Vogel. Hanlon is sent to the hole while the investigation occurs and CO Karl Metzger comes in. Metzger is a full-fledged member of the Aryan Brotherhood and tells Hanlon that he will confess to the murder of Alexander Vogel or else he will die at the hands of the Brotherhood. He also points out that they will agree to let Hanlon live if he gets life in prison for murder. Richie confesses and is sentenced to death for two murders.

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Hanlon is sent to death row where the only other prisoner is a woman named Shirley Bellinger. She is sexually promiscuous and asks to see Hanlon's penis on several occasions, not bothered by the fact that he is gay. On death row, inmate Vernon Schillinger, the head of the Aryan Brotherhood, delivers mail and hurls homophobic slurs at him on a daily basis. Bellinger asks what the problem between the two of them is and he tells her that Schillinger and the Aryans threatened to kill him if he did not take the murder rap. She suggests that he lie and say that Schillinger was also involved in the murders. Hanlon considers the plan, but before he can act on it, his death sentence is overturned due to a technicality; however he still has to serve his original sentence. It is around this time and another Russian named Nikolai Stanislofsky is sent to Oz. Stanislofsky claims that he knew Vogel on the outside and that the two of them were sworn enemies. Upon erroneously hearing that Hanlon murdered Vogel, Stanislofsky personally congratulates him. However once Hanlon's case is adjourned and he is returned to Oz, Stanislofsky approaches him in the showers and appears to be acting affectionate towards him. As Stanislofsky leans closer, he cuts Hanlon's neck with a razor blade that he hid in his mouth. As Hanlon bleeds to death, Stanislofsky reveals to him that he was lying, and that he and Vogel were friends.

References