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Judge vacates Aaron Hernandez's 2015 murder conviction
Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction vacated
Odin Lloyd, meaning the former New England Patriot is considered not guilty in the eyes of the court.
an ancient Massachusetts law should be applied here. It states that if a defendant dies while a conviction is still in the process of appeal then the verdict is vacated. Hernandez, 27, committed suicide late last month while serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Lloyd." data-reactid="23">Bristol County (Mass.) Judge Susan Garsh, who preceded over the original trial, ruled in favor of Hernandez’s estate, agreeing that
an ancient Massachusetts law should be applied here. It states that if a defendant dies while a conviction is still in the process of appeal then the verdict is vacated. Hernandez, 27,
committed suicide late last month while serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Lloyd.
“Abatement is the law in this Commonwealth and this court is required to follow that precedent,” Garsh said citing case law. “… the Court has no other choice.”
The Commonwealth is expected to appeal the decision, which will almost certainly wind up in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. No matter which way Garsh ruled, this was almost assuredly going to be step one in a long legal process.
Hernandez’s attorney, JohnThompson, argued in briefs and during a 40-minute hearing Tuesday morning that neither the cause of death nor any assumed motives applied to the law. He noted there was no precedent in any other ruling on the issue that called for abatement not to be granted.
“[The original Lloyd ruling] is not a final conviction,” Thompson said. “And that’s what matters.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/aaron-hernandezs-murder-conviction-vacated-152810324.html