Judge Scraps Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Conviction

A judge in Massachusetts scrapped former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction Tuesday, just weeks after he was found dead in his suburban Boston jail cell of an apparent suicide. Hernandez was found guilty in 2015 in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player. According to WBZ, Judge Susan Garsh ruled in favor of “abating the entire prosecution as if it never happened.” She added: “This court is compelled to follow binding precedent.... This court cannot know why Hernandez chose to end his life.” The precedent Garsh was referring to allows for a defendant’s conviction to be vacated if he or she died before the appeal process began.