A Massachusetts court tossed out former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction due to a legal doctrine called abatement ab initio that calls for convictions to be voided if an appeal is in process at the time of the defendant’s death. Hernandez killed himself back in 2017.
That decision was reversed by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. In addition to reinstating the conviction, the court also struck down the use of that doctrine in the future, per ProFootballTalk. Hernandez was convicted of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015.
Per the Associated Press, the court’s ruling found that the doctrine is “outdated and no longer consonant with the circumstances of contemporary life.”
“We are pleased justice is served in this case, the antiquated practice of vacating a valid conviction is being eliminated and the victim’s family can get the closure they deserve,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said.
Rather than continuing to use abatement ab initio, the court found that a conviction should stand along with a note that it was “neither affirmed nor reversed” on appeal because of the defendant’s death.
The courts need to update all of their outdated rules so these things don’t happen. All this does is reopen old wounds for all the parties involved.