Judge vacates Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction

May 9, 2017 12:27 pm

By: News Staff

Email: news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) – The judge in Fall River Superior Court said she had no choice but to vacate Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction.

In other words, he legally died an innocent man.

The prosecution argued that because Hernandez committed suicide that constituted waiver and forfeiture, but Hernandez’s attorney said the manner of death does not matter.

The principle in question is called abatement ab initio. This means when a defendant dies while they have an open appeal, that defendant’s conviction is wiped away.

Today, the case in question was Aaron Hernandez’s killing of Odin Lloyd.

The state pointed to the prison report released Friday, arguing that Hernandez was motivated to kill himself because he knew about abatement. Abatement is a centuries old principle.

However, the judge ultimately said the court can never know exactly why Hernandez committed suicide.

Because Hernandez technically died an innocent man, there is question over whether he is entitled to the money he was never paid out from the New England Patriots.

ABC6 News will have much more on this developing story tonight at 5.