Story highlights Hernandez's murder conviction was tossed out in May after his suicideProsecutors say the ruling to vacate the conviction is based on an 'archaic' rule(CNN) Bristol County prosecutors officially asked to reinstate Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction on Friday, arguing in court documents that the former NFL player's suicide should not lead to dismissal of the guilty verdict. The appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts specifically targets the "abatement" rule, which holds that murder convictions are tossed out if a defendant dies before his appeal has been heard by a court. "This is an archaic rule not based on the Constitution, and it should be changed. Hernandez was convicted of murder for the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but he had appealed the decision.

Source: CNN June 23, 2017 21:33 UTC