When cases don't close

Aaron Hernandez may become the latest high-profile Massachusetts defendant to have his conviction vacated after his death, thanks to a long-standing Bay State law regarding cases still under appeal before the convict dies.

JOHN C. SALVI III Killed two female staffers and wounded five other people in two Brookline abortion clinics in 1994 before he committed suicide in 1996 inside MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole while serving two life sentences. His convictions on two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of armed assault with intent to murder were all vacated after his death.

JOHN J. GEOGHAN A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who was a child molester, was strangled and stomped to death by fellow inmate Joseph Druce in 2003 inside Souza-Baranowski while serving a 9- to 10-year sentence. His conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14 was vacated.

KEITH M. LUKE Was a neo-Nazi who murdered a Cape Verdean immigrant, shot and raped her sister, then killed an elderly homeless man during a Brockton rampage in 2009. He committed suicide in 2014 inside Souza-Baranowski while serving two life sentences plus 210 years. His convictions for murder, armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated rape, kidnapping, home invasion and weapon charges were all vacated.

PHILIP MARKOFF

For many, Hernandez's death yesterday brought to mind the 2010 suicide of accused Craigslist killer Philip H. Markoff at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston; however, Markoff had not yet gone on trial, so the law, known as abatement ab initio, did not apply. Still, Markoff died an innocent man in the eyes of the law. Unable to prosecute him, the Suffolk District Attorney's office posthumously dropped charges including murder and kidnapping.