Hernandez’s murder conviction tossed after suicide
FALL RIVER, MASS.— A judge on Tuesday erased a 2013 murder conviction against former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, ruling that case law in Massachusetts has long established that defendants who die before their appeals are heard should have their convictions vacated.
Bristol County Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh said she was compelled to follow precedent in ordering that Hernandez’s first-degree murder conviction be dismissed in the death of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. Hernandez killed himself in prison last month while serving a life sentence.
“In our book, he’s guilty, and he’s always going to be guilty,” said Ursula Ward, Lloyd’s mother, during a news conference.
Prosecutors said they would appeal the ruling to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
“Despite the tragic ending to Aaron Hernandez’s life, he should not reap the legal benefits of an antiquated rule,” said Thomas Quinn III, the Bristol County district attorney.
Lawyers for Hernandez had argued that the SJC had applied the legal doctrine “without exception,” even in cases of suicide. They said his conviction wasn’t considered final because the automatic appeal he was entitled to had not been heard.
Prosecutor Patrick Bomberg said Hernandez’s suicide was a “calculated act.” He cited a a Department of Correction report that said Hernan- dez told another inmate he had heard a “rumour” that if an inmate has an open appeal on his case and dies in prison, he will be acquitted.
Garsh said there may be “complex and myriad” reasons that Hernandez killed himself. She cited a report from prison officials that some inmates said they knew about a radio broadcast that speculated Hernandez may have been gay. She also said a “possible mental disturbance” was reflected in a suicide note to his fian- cee in which he said his death was “the Supremes, the almightys plan, not mine.”
Lloyd’s mother has filed a wrongfuldeath lawsuit against Hernandez. Her attorney, Douglas Sheff, said he doesn’t believe the civil case will be undermined by the dismissal of Hernandez’s conviction.
An attorney in Hernandez’s criminal case filed court papers last month that said his estate is currently worth “zero.”
Sheff said the only identifiable assets he knows of are Hernandez’s house, valued at $1.3 million, and a Hummer. But he noted that a message Hernandez left for his fiancee said, in part: “You’re rich.”
“We don’t know what that refers to. We’d like to find out,” he said.