Judge Vacates Aaron Hernandez Murder Conviction; Effect On Civil Lawsuit Uncertain
It is unclear if the decision will have implications for the pending civil lawsuit against Hernandez's estate filed by Lloyd's mother. Her lawyer has Tuesday he did not believe a vacated murder conviction would affect the civil case.
The legal principle that reversed Hernandez's conviction posthumously is known as "abatement ab initio" -- a Latin phrase meaning "from the beginning" -- and dates to when
The abatement doctrine states that it is discriminatory to a defendant or survivors to allow a conviction to stand before they have a chance to fully appeal it. Hernandez hanged himself in a
The prosecutor said
"
Lloyd's mother,
"I know you are looking for me to be angry but I am not. In our book he is guilty and will always be guilty," Ward said as she fought back tears during a brief press conference outside the courthouse. "No one wins today. One day I will get to see my son and that is the victory I am going to take with me."
Judge
She said the
Garsh mentioned that the Commonwealth argued Hernandez's intention when he killed himself was to abandoned his right to appeal. But she rejected that position, saying the cases the Commonwealth used to argue the point were not relevant to this case.
She said it is unclear why Hernandez killed himself and that a recently released correction department report provides no clear evidence of his motive. The Commonwealth had pointed to part of a correction department report that said inmates had heard Hernandez talk about the abatement doctrine.
Garsh said that there were inmates who also told investigators Hernandez had become spiritual and a religious motive can't be dismissed. She also brought up rumors that he was gay as possible motive for suicide.
Earlier, lawyer
"This is not a final conviction," he said. "And that's what matters."
Quinn had opposed the motion to vacate Hernandez's conviction. Garsh sentenced Hernandez in 2015 to life in prison without parole after a jury found him guilty of the murder.
Lloyd was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee
Prosecutors argued in a brief filed last week that erasing the convictions of Hernandez would "reward [his] conscious, deliberate and voluntary act," adding that he had a poor chance of overturning his conviction in the appeal process.
There is no constitutional right or statutory right to abatement, prosecutor
"It is a practice," he said. "There is no reason to apply abatement in this case."
Hernandez's lawyer was asking the judge to return him to the presumption of innocence, he said.
"This is not a defendant who has arrived at killing himself by happenstance; that is not what the evidence shows," said Bomberg. "The defendant should not be able to accomplish in death what he could not accomplish in life."
The abatement doctrine has been used previously in high-profile
In 2003, former priest
After the Salvi case, some
Last month Hernandez, 27 at the time of his death, was acquitted in a separate trial of murdering
Less than a week after that court victory, Hernandez was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell at the
Ward's lawyer,
"The abatement issue doesn't impact our case because we already have a summary judgment in our favor," he said.
The suit does not specify the amount of damages Ward is seeking from Hernandez. Her lawyers had asked a court to set aside and reserve some of Hernandez's assets, including the house he owns in
Sheff said he was interested to learn that in Hernandez's suicide note to fiancés
"We have already wanted to learn if there are other assets and now that we can move forward with discovery in our case we can try and find where the money may be," he said.
Sheff said it is unclear what the ruling will have on the Patriots payments.
"What happens in civil matters isn't part of the criminal process,"
Hernandez's death has been ruled a suicide by the
State police released a 71-page report last week concluding that it was a suicide.
Investigators found three handwritten notes next to a Bible in Hernandez's cell and the message John 3:16 written on the wall, apparently in his own blood, the
The source appeared to be a fresh cut on his right middle finger.
One of those notes was to
"I told you what was coming indirectly! I love you so much and know you are an angel -- Eternally," Hernandez wrote to Jenkins. "... This was the supremes, the almightys plan, not mine!"
Investigators have reported that Hernandez jammed cardboard into the door tracks of his cell to prevent anyone from entering. He also slicked the floor with shampoo and hung a second bed sheet outside of his door, blocking officers' view inside, according to the state police report.
Besides his fiancee and daughter, Hernandez was survived by his mother, Terri, and his brother, Jonathan. He was predeceased by his father, Dennis.
It was the death of Dennis in
Jonathan, then known as D.J., was playing football at UConn when
In
Hernandez finished his college career with 111 receptions for 1,382 yards and 12 TDs. He declared for the NFL draft in 2010 and was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round, even though he was viewed as a first or second round talent.
His draft stock fell because Hernandez failed drug tests for marijuana.
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