BOSTON (NECN) — The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has reinstated former New England Patriots' star Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction.
Hernandez was found guilty in 2015 of killing semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. Two years later, the 27-year-old was found dead in his prison cell days after being acquitted of most charges in a separate double-murder case.
A judge threw out Hernandez's conviction after his death, citing the legal principle that holds that a defendant convicted at trial who dies before an appeal is heard should no longer be considered guilty in the eyes of the law, thereby returning the case to its pretrial status.