DA: Tossing Aaron Hernandez Murder Conviction Seen As Reward
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — Prosecutors have asked a judge to reject a request by attorneys for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez to dismiss his murder conviction.
In court documents filed Monday, prosecutors argue that dismissing the conviction would reward Hernandez for his "conscious, deliberate and voluntary act" of killing semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.
"After conviction, a defendant is no longer presumed innocent but is, in fact, presumed guilty," read the motion.
Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in Lloyd's 2013 killing. The former New England Patriots tight end died of an apparent suicide in prison last month, five days after being acquitted in a separate double slaying in 2012.
Last week, his lawyers asked that his murder conviction be vacated under case law in Massachusetts that has held that when a defendant dies before an appeal is decided, the conviction is vacated. Hernandez's appeal hadn't been heard yet when he hanged himself.
"The defendant, by deliberately, purposely and voluntarily ending his life prior to the exhaustion of his appellate rights, manifested his intention to abandon his appeal," the motion reads.
The motion also contends that Hernandez had little or no chance of succeeding with his appeal.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
