A judge on Tuesday erased a 2013 murder conviction against former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, ruling that case law in Massachusetts had long established that defendants who die before their appeals are heard could have their convictions vacated. Hernandez killed himself last month in prison while serving a life sentence. She said no one can ever know for sure why Hernandez killed himself. Ward has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Hernandez, and her lawyer has said he doesn’t believe the civil case would be undermined if Hernandez’s conviction was vacated. Thompson says he has recent correspondence from Hernandez in which he was interested in pursuing an appeal of his conviction.

Source: The Guardian May 09, 2017 16:18 UTC