According to a legal principle, Aaron Hernandez could be ruled as an innocent man in the state of Massachusetts following his suicide on Wednesday.
Martin W. Healy, the chief legal counsel of the Massachusetts Bar Association, has explained that a legal principle called “abatement ab initio” could result in the former New England Patriots star’s innocence.
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Abatement ab initio means “from the beginning.” In Aaron Hernandez’s situation, the case reverts to the status at the beginning of the trial if the defendant has not exhausted all means of legal appeals. This means that when the 27-year-old died, it’s as if his trial and conviction never happened.
“Unfortunately, in the Odin Lloyd matter, for the family, there won’t be any real closure,” said Healy. “Aaron Hernandez will go to his death an innocent man.”
Hernandez’s appellate attorney, John M. Thompson, revealed that he intends to file all the appropriate paperwork once Aaron’s death certificate is available.
Thompson did not say when the last time he met with Hernandez was, but he did explain that his office was preparing to appeal in the Lloyd homicide, according to the Boston Globe.
“We were dedicated to getting his appeal going,” Thompson said. “The trial is not the final step. Everyone is entitled to an appeal, and in particular entitled to an appeal in a first-degree murder case.”
While Aaron could be found innocent, there are a number of ways that the state could maintain its guilty verdict.
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John Thompson also stated that Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III’s office could challenge his team’s motion to have the conviction vacated.
It was Quinn’s team that sought the first-degree murder conviction against Hernandez. They originally won the case and Aaron was sentenced to life without parole.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Quinn, delivered a short statement regarding Hernandez’s death.
“This is a shocking and sad end to a very tragic series of events that has negatively impacted a number of families,” he said.
In addition to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn, Odin Lloyd’s family could have petition the court not to vacate Hernandez’s conviction.
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[H/T Boston Globe]
