New England Patriots Aaron Hernandez arrested on murder charge - Trial set to begin January 9, 2015 #3

Thanks Weezie!

Susie ‏@Groceryhound · 1m1 minute ago
Since "extreme cruelty" was part of guilty #AaronHernandez verdict, he will get life in prison without the possibility of parole

Watertown DailyTimes ‏@WDTnews  · 2m2 minutes ago  
BREAKING NEWS: After a short break to speak with jurors, judge will return to the bench to sentence #AaronHernandez today



Jesse Grossi ‏@producerjesse · 2m2 minutes ago
#aaronhernandez will be sentenced at 10:50am

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, this is how the Commonwealth rolls.....

Andrew Julien ‏@andrewjulien · 1m1 minute ago
Vicitm impact statements from members of Odin Lloyd's family will be read before #AaronHernandez is sentenced.

Byron Barnett ‏@Byron_Barnett · 1m1 minute ago
Observers say #AaronHernandez was mouthing the words, "It's OK" and "Be Strong" to his mom & Shayanna

Brian Fraga  ‏@BfragaHN  · 57s58 seconds ago  
Ursula: Odin was firstborn of 3 children, he was my only son

Kevin Vaughan ‏@writerkev · 41s42 seconds ago
#AaronHernandez sits in a chair, wrists and ankles shackled, while victim Odin Lloyd's mother speaks.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/aaronhernandez?f=realtime&src=hash

I'm in chat if you want to join me.

I am betting Shayanna is totally confused now.
How will she be able to continue her "independence" with him locked up?
Where is she to move to?
(I am sure the house will be claimed for sale in restitution or legal fees...)
How is she to support her child?
And, what about that relationship with her sister, her birth family?

One minute you are flying high
and the next you are brought down...

Wild About Trial ‏@WildAboutTrial · 33s34 seconds ago
#AaronHernandez has officially been sentenced to prison "for the term of his natural life w/o the possibility of parole."

Brian Fraga ‏@BfragaHN · 31s32 seconds ago
Court in recess. The trial is done. Thanks everybody for following me these last 3 months

Wow! So glad they got it right!

What a week!

An inside look at Massachusetts prison life

There are no televisions, radios, or hotpots allowed, and no access to the canteen. Pay phones on wheels are rolled to cells for brief calls, and some prisoners play chess by calling out their moves on separate boards in separate cells, where prisoners are required to spend 23 hours a day.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/11/14/inside-look-massachusetts-prison-life/pCM2p6X4Hfcs51gAPR8vUO/story.html

So glad to hear that AH was in courtroom. I didn't see him and I wanted him to hear this lovely family and just how this murder has denied them of a joy they treasured.

Thanks to Weezie and everyone for all the updates!

This has been a great week for justice!

Finally, justice for Travis

and now,

Justice for Odin!

Jurors now speaking on CNN

Prosecutor about to give a press conference

Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 1h1 hour ago

Boston says trial date of May 28th for the double murders trial #aaronhernandez faces is canceled but will be reset
8 retweets 17 favorites

https://twitter.com/hardtruth4real/lists/jodi-arias-trial-live

Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 1h1 hour ago

If you missed the #aaronhernandez verdict you can watch it here! http://thetrialdiaries.com/trials-after-dark/ …

https://twitter.com/hardtruth4real/lists/jodi-arias-trial-live

CuriousPortlander wrote:
Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 1h1 hour ago

Boston says trial date of May 28th for the double murders trial #aaronhernandez faces is canceled but will be reset
8 retweets 17 favorites

https://twitter.com/hardtruth4real/lists/jodi-arias-trial-live

I certainly hope the trial will go on!
Legal fees are going to own him....

PS IIRC, isn't there a civil suit for having shot his friend in the face?

Freckles wrote:

CuriousPortlander wrote:
Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 1h1 hour ago

Boston says trial date of May 28th for the double murders trial #aaronhernandez faces is canceled but will be reset
8 retweets 17 favorites

https://twitter.com/hardtruth4real/lists/jodi-arias-trial-live

I certainly hope the trial will go on!
Legal fees are going to own him....

PS IIRC, isn't there a civil suit for having shot his friend in the face?

I think they will reschedule it.  I don't think they'll let it drop.  

And yes, Bradley filed a civil suit.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/27/aaron-hernandez-responds-alexander-bradley-civil-suit-asserts-fifth-amendment/BwFU2lJCu80mdGRtMiqQLJ/story.html

CNN will have a special on tonight about Hernandez; 9 p.m. Eastern.

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Freckles wrote:
I certainly hope the trial will go on!
Legal fees are going to own him....

PS IIRC, isn't there a civil suit for having shot his friend in the face?

I think they will reschedule it.  I don't think they'll let it drop.  

And yes, Bradley filed a civil suit.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/27/aaron-hernandez-responds-alexander-bradley-civil-suit-asserts-fifth-amendment/BwFU2lJCu80mdGRtMiqQLJ/story.html

Jean. C. on CNN just said they will announce a new trial date for the double murder within the next few weeks.

CuriousPortlander wrote:

CuriousPortlander wrote:

I think they will reschedule it.  I don't think they'll let it drop.  

And yes, Bradley filed a civil suit.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/27/aaron-hernandez-responds-alexander-bradley-civil-suit-asserts-fifth-amendment/BwFU2lJCu80mdGRtMiqQLJ/story.html

Jean. C. on CNN just said they will announce a new trial date for the double murder within the next few weeks.

Lots of civil suits. Three that I am currently aware of.

Alexander Bradley filed a civil suit and the families of each of the two Boston murder victims filed civil suits for $6million dollars each. I don't see any way for Aaron Hernandez to avoid becoming penniless at this point.

Mylife101 wrote:

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Jean. C. on CNN just said they will announce a new trial date for the double murder within the next few weeks.

Lots of civil suits.  Three that I am currently aware of.

Alexander Bradley filed a civil suit and the families of each of the two Boston murder victims filed civil suits for $6million dollars each.  I don't see any way for Aaron Hernandez to avoid becoming penniless at this point.

Oh, wow!  His goose is cooked.

I really feel sorry for his daughter.  Such an innocent victim in all this.  It's so tragic how many people's lives were damaged by the selfish actions of this thug.

Aaron Hernandez Trial - Verdict

Published on Apr 15, 2015




Aaron Hernandez Trial - Sentencing

Published on Apr 15, 2015




Aaron Hernandez Trial - Jurors Speak

Published on Apr 15, 2015




Aaron Hernandez Trial - Press Conference

Published on Apr 15, 2015


Source: Croaker Queen - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyFXpkWhSr9IAqD4LKq02fg

Just curious, is there a reason that AH sat down after the murder verdict was read and everyone else remained standing? It looked like the bald, DOC officer in the white shirt said something to AH and then he sat down. Was it AH's choice to sit or did they tell him to?

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Mylife101 wrote:

Lots of civil suits.  Three that I am currently aware of.

Alexander Bradley filed a civil suit and the families of each of the two Boston murder victims filed civil suits for $6million dollars each.  I don't see any way for Aaron Hernandez to avoid becoming penniless at this point.

Oh, wow!  His goose is cooked.

I really feel sorry for his daughter.  Such an innocent victim in all this.  It's so tragic how many people's lives were damaged by the selfish actions of this thug.

I agree, CP. This is sad for little Avielle. At least she was only about 8 months old when AH was first arrested and will not have active memories of times spent with a father that is no longer able to be with her. However, this child was born into a financial situation that should have provided excellent life opportunities for her. Now Avielle is without a father and it is questionable whether there will be any money left to benefit this little girls future. Of course, even worse is the fact that Ursula Ward is now forever without her son and Olivia T. is forever without her brother, Odin. No winners.

Mylife101 wrote:Just curious, is there a reason that AH sat down after the murder verdict was read and everyone else remained standing?  It looked like the bald, DOC officer in the white shirt said something to AH and then he sat down.  Was it AH's choice to sit or did they tell him to?

The minute the guilty verdict was read, the guard asked Hernandez to sit down and put him in handcuffs.

Oh, that explains it. Thanks, AD.

I doubt that AH was feeling as stoic as he was looking.

Guilty: Former NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Will Spend Life in Prison Without Parole

By Polly Mosendz   4/15/15 at 10:22 AM


Handcuffs are seen on Aaron Hernandez after the guilty verdict is read during his murder trial on April 15, 2015.  Dominick Reuter/Reuters

Updated | On Wednesday, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, 25, was found guilty on first degree murder charges for the death of Odin Lloyd. A jury of seven women and five men deliberated the matter since April 7. Hernandez will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was also found guilty of a second lesser charge for a gun.

Lloyd was dating the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fiancee. Hernandez claimed two of his friends were responsible for the killing and he was merely there when it happened. Jenkins was in the front row of the court room when the verdict was read as was Hernandez's mother.

Reporters at the scene described Hernandez as "emotionless" when he left the court room. He told Jenkins, who was described as inconsolable, "Stay strong, stay strong," as he was led to a holding cell.


Terri Hernandez, mother of Aaron Hernandez, reacts as the guilty verdict is read during her son's murder trial at the Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts on April 15.  Dominick Reuter/Reuters

~Snipped~

Hernandez could appeal the decision—his lawyers are reportedly known for successful appeals—but some legal experts believe the chances of overturning the verdict are slim.

"Appeals are based on 'legal error'. The question would be whether the trial judge committed any legal error, for instance by not sustaining an objection that should have been sustained, not allowing evidence in which should not have been kept out, or allowing evidence in which should have been kept out," famed athlete attorney Randall Kessler told Newsweek. "But judges are often very, very careful in cases like these and appeals are almost always very, very difficult."

Read more:

http://www.newsweek.com/aaron-hernandez-verdict-322357

Mylife101 wrote:

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Oh, wow!  His goose is cooked.

I really feel sorry for his daughter.  Such an innocent victim in all this.  It's so tragic how many people's lives were damaged by the selfish actions of this thug.

I agree, CP.  This is sad for little Avielle.  At least she was only about 8 months old when AH was first arrested and will not have active memories of times spent with a father that is no longer able to be with her.  However,  this child was born into a financial situation that should have provided excellent life opportunities for her.  Now Avielle is without a father and it is questionable whether there will be any money left to benefit this little girls future.  Of course, even worse is the fact that Ursula Ward is now forever without her son and Olivia T. is forever without her brother, Odin.  No winners.

The pendulum swings. The yin has its yang. For every right there is a left. Maybe, this is what will turn Shayanna's life around where she becomes a better, a stronger person for herself, her family, and her little girl. Healing only happens when hurt has been there. Perhaps, she will begin to heal and learn to be a better person, more trustworthy to herself and to others... The opportunities exist. She is waking p to smell the  coffee.

Jurors ‘shocked’ by defense tactic in Hernandez trial

By Maria Cramer | Globe Staff  April 15, 2015

FALL RIVER — After 10 weeks of testimony, more than 130 witnesses, and hundreds of pieces of evidence, the jurors in the trial of Aaron Hernandez on Wednesday revealed that one of the key factors that helped them convict the former NFL star of murder came in an admission made during the defense team’s closing argument.

“We were all shocked,” one juror said of the defense’s acknowledgment that Hernandez was in the North Attleborough industrial yard at the same time that Lloyd, 27, was shot to death.
 
The jurors, in an unusual press conference after the verdict Wednesday, said the admission helped corroborate the other evidence against Hernandez.

Prosecutors had steadily worked to build a circumstantial case, with no murder weapon or clear motive to bolster the first-degree-murder charge against the 25-year-old.

But during final statements, just before jurors began deliberations, the defense admitted that Hernandez was present at the crime scene — a strategy that legal specialists said could cut either way. If the defense lawyers were willing to acknowledge there was enough evidence to put Hernandez at the scene, the jurors might be open to the alternative theory that someone else had committed the murder.

However, it was a gamble that did not pay off, said Martin Healy, the Massachusetts Bar Association’s chief legal counsel.

Read more:

http://origin.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/15/relieved-aaron-hernandez-trial-jurors-said-they-were-shocked-defense-admission-was-murder-scene/yNepbRcXeyHpPjrzmCsKjK/story.html

Jurors shocked by defense admission of Hernandez at murder scene (Video)

Jurors in Aaron Hernandez murder case talk about murder conviction

UPDATED 11:41 PM EDT Apr 15, 2015

FALL RIVER, Mass. —The jurors who found Aaron Hernandez guilty of murder said they were shocked by the defense admission that the former New England Patriots player was at the scene of the killing.

~Snipped~

During closing arguments, Hernandez's lawyer James Sultan for the first time acknowledged that Hernandez was present when Lloyd was killed. But he said Hernandez was a witness and his two co-defendants committed the killing. They are awaiting trial.
   
The jury says the defense admission that Hernandez was at the scene created more corroboration that he was guilty.

To be considered first-degree murder in Massachusetts, the killing has to be either premeditated or involve extreme atrocity or cruelty.

"I think we couldn't unanimously conclude that there was evidence of premeditation, but we did agree it was extreme atrocity," another juror said.

Read more:

http://www.wmur.com/sports/jurors-shocked-by-defense-admission-of-hernandez-at-murder-scene/32384202

Jurors were shocked by concession that Hernandez witnessed the murder

Mike Florio
updated 3:58 pm. EDT Apr. 15, 2015

The jurors who determined that former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez killed Odin Lloyd conducted a joint press conference on Wednesday, making plenty of interesting observations about the process that ended with Hernandez being convicted.

Most significantly, the jurors expressed surprise that defense lawyer James Sultan admitted during closing arguments that Hernandez witnessed the murder.

“We were all shocked by that,” one of the jurors said, via the Boston Globe.  The others expressed agreement with that sentiment.

It was shocking for multiple reasons. First, there was no testimony or other evidence introduced at trial placing Hernandez at the scene of the shooting.  Second, the notion that Hernandez saw someone kill his future brother-in-law (as Sultan also suggested during closing arguments) and then brought the murderer back to Hernandez’s home, where his infant daughter was sleeping, made no sense.

The effort to sneak in evidence that hadn’t been introduced at trial arose from a desire to supply an alternative explanation to the theory that Hernandez killed Lloyd.  In hindsight, it would have been better to stick with the “it wasn’t me” defense, and to poke repeatedly at holes in the government’s failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was.

Read more:

http://m.nbcsports.com/content/jurors-were-shocked-concession-hernandez-witnessed-murder

Alessandra_Deux wrote:Guilty: Former NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Will Spend Life in Prison Without Parole

By Polly Mosendz   4/15/15 at 10:22 AM

{Snipped for space}

~Snipped~

Hernandez could appeal the decision—his lawyers are reportedly known for successful appeals—but some legal experts believe the chances of overturning the verdict are slim.

"Appeals are based on 'legal error'. The question would be whether the trial judge committed any legal error, for instance by not sustaining an objection that should have been sustained, not allowing evidence in which should not have been kept out, or allowing evidence in which should have been kept out," famed athlete attorney Randall Kessler told Newsweek. "But judges are often very, very careful in cases like these and appeals are almost always very, very difficult."

Read more:

http://www.newsweek.com/aaron-hernandez-verdict-322357

(Made red by me)

I just had an awful thought.  If his lawyers are known for winning appeals, is it possible they purposefully introduced the "he was there" statement during closing as a way to introduce something that shouldn't have been stated to the jury and thereby intentionally creating an appeal issue?  I know closing arguments are NOT evidence; but could a verdict be thrown out for something said in closing?  Maybe it's not a "legal error", but could it be considered ineffective assistance of counsel?  Thoughts?

As a side comment, it sounds like they have direct, hard evidence against AH for the double murders, so even if this verdict gets overturned, it's not like he's going to walk.  Just sayin'...

Freckles wrote:

Mylife101 wrote:

I agree, CP.  This is sad for little Avielle.  At least she was only about 8 months old when AH was first arrested and will not have active memories of times spent with a father that is no longer able to be with her.  However,  this child was born into a financial situation that should have provided excellent life opportunities for her.  Now Avielle is without a father and it is questionable whether there will be any money left to benefit this little girls future.  Of course, even worse is the fact that Ursula Ward is now forever without her son and Olivia T. is forever without her brother, Odin.  No winners.

The pendulum swings. The yin has its yang. For every right there is a left. Maybe, this is what will turn Shayanna's life around where she becomes a better, a stronger person for herself, her family, and her little girl. Healing only happens when hurt has been there. Perhaps, she will begin to heal and learn to be a better person, more trustworthy to herself and to others... The opportunities exist. She is waking p to smell the  coffee.

@Mylife, One Wonders and I were just talking about that today; that his money is virtually gone due to legal fees, civil case damages/restitution, etc.  I sure hope they can freeze some of his assets to provide for Avielle.  She didn't deserve any of this.

@Freckles, I agree that healing comes from hurt.  Even though I think Shayanna's actions in covering up this crime were inexcusable, I kind of feel sorry for her that she doesn't appear to have the confidence/self esteem to realize she doesn't have to accept a relationship with a man she knows cheats on her.  Maybe this is the catalyst she needs to turn her life around, since AH blew his chances of doing so.  Maybe she can learn from both of their mistakes.  One (and I don't mean One Wonders) can only hope.

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Alessandra_Deux wrote:Guilty: Former NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Will Spend Life in Prison Without Parole

By Polly Mosendz   4/15/15 at 10:22 AM

{Snipped for space}

~Snipped~

Hernandez could appeal the decision—his lawyers are reportedly known for successful appeals—but some legal experts believe the chances of overturning the verdict are slim.

"Appeals are based on 'legal error'. The question would be whether the trial judge committed any legal error, for instance by not sustaining an objection that should have been sustained, not allowing evidence in which should not have been kept out, or allowing evidence in which should have been kept out," famed athlete attorney Randall Kessler told Newsweek. "But judges are often very, very careful in cases like these and appeals are almost always very, very difficult."

Read more:

http://www.newsweek.com/aaron-hernandez-verdict-322357

(Made red by me)

I just had an awful thought.  If his lawyers are known for winning appeals, is it possible they purposefully introduced the "he was there" statement during closing as a way to introduce something that shouldn't have been stated to the jury and thereby intentionally creating an appeal issue?  I know closing arguments are NOT evidence; but could a verdict be thrown out for something said in closing?  Maybe it's not a "legal error", but could it be considered ineffective assistance of counsel?  Thoughts?

As a side comment, it sounds like they have direct, hard evidence against AH for the double murders, so even if this verdict gets overturned, it's not like he's going to walk.  Just sayin'...

@CP
I was wondering the same thing. At first glance it appeared that they made the admission to retain some credibility with the jury since the pro's had so much evidence placing AH in the industrial park. It also allowed them to introduce an alternate theory that someone other than AH did it. I think that after watching the entire pro's case play out it was probably clear to the DT that AH would be convicted. It appeared that the DT gambled and lost with the admission. But, did they? Like you, I am now wondering if this was intentional. Did Sultan take one for the team in order to draw an ineffective counsel appeal? He just might have done exactly that.

On a side note, I am wondering how AH (now known as W106228) is enjoying his new maximum security state provided man cave at MCI Cedar Junction?

Mylife101 wrote:On a side note, I am wondering how AH (now known as W106228) is enjoying his new maximum security state provided man cave at MCI Cedar Junction?

  Man cave, indeed!

PS:  Thanks for your sanity check above.  

Inside Aaron Hernandez's VERY different new life: NFL star begins life term at 700-inmate prison just TWO MILES from the Patriots stadium where inmates wear gray scrubs and make license plates for 50 cents


~snipped~
Aaron Hernandez left behind his life as a millionaire star athlete today, swapping a designer suit for a set of gray scrubs at a prison where he will begin a life sentence for murder.

It is perhaps fitting that Hernandez was booked at MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, a prison just across the freeway from Gillette Stadium where he used to play for the New England Patriots...

~snipped~
Directly after court, Hernandez was taken to the 700-inmate facility that will serve as a stark contrast to his former home - a $1.3million mansion.

Hernandez arrived at Cedar Junction around 1pm for booking and was given the prison number W106228.

~snipped~

Cedar Point is where all male inmates are booked when they start their sentences in Massachusetts, so Hernandez will eventually be moved to another facility in the coming weeks or months,

It's reported that he will be sent to Sousa Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts next.

Read more:
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3041031/Ex-Patriots-star-Aaron-Hernandez-begins-life-prison-sentence-corrections-center-just-TWO-MILES-Gillette-Stadium.html

This link has lots of good pictures re: prison, etc (I would have posted a few if only I had a clue how to do that)

Here is an article that I came across on Sultan and Rankin. Apparently, they win a lot of appeals.  The Lloyd murder conviction plus the likely Boston convictions should keep Sultan and Rankin busy appealing for a very long time...or at least until AH's bank account runs dry.

Turning Verdicts a Specialty for Aaron Hernandez Defense Team

~snipped~
If defense lawyers were like health care plans, the Rankin & Sultan law firm includes both Grade-A preventative care and catastrophic coverage. And when on trial for murder, it’s a necessity to get the best insurance money can buy...

~snipped~
...While Garsh has made a career of being a smart and very principled judge, said Dearborn, the presence of Rankin and Sultan has been influential in the case. As past judges know, dealing with these two is like walking a judiciary tightrope...

~snipped~
...The list goes on of overturned post-trial convictions by the Sultan and Rankin team. Literally, the list goes on.

“They’re great trial lawyers too, but they’re just off-the-charts unbelievable as post-conviction lawyers,” said Dearborn...

Read more:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/03/13/turning-verdicts-specialty-for-aaron-hernandez-defense-team/dauqYjXnkoYgLy0rCrS1II/story.html

Mylife101 wrote:Inside Aaron Hernandez's VERY different new life: NFL star begins life term at 700-inmate prison just TWO MILES from the Patriots stadium where inmates wear gray scrubs and make license plates for 50 cents


~snipped~
Aaron Hernandez left behind his life as a millionaire star athlete today, swapping a designer suit for a set of gray scrubs at a prison where he will begin a life sentence for murder.

It is perhaps fitting that Hernandez was booked at MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, a prison just across the freeway from Gillette Stadium where he used to play for the New England Patriots...

~snipped~
Directly after court, Hernandez was taken to the 700-inmate facility that will serve as a stark contrast to his former home - a $1.3million mansion.

Hernandez arrived at Cedar Junction around 1pm for booking and was given the prison number W106228.

~snipped~

Cedar Point is where all male inmates are booked when they start their sentences in Massachusetts, so Hernandez will eventually be moved to another facility in the coming weeks or months,

It's reported that he will be sent to Sousa Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts next.

Read more:
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3041031/Ex-Patriots-star-Aaron-Hernandez-begins-life-prison-sentence-corrections-center-just-TWO-MILES-Gillette-Stadium.html


This link has lots of good pictures re: prison, etc (I would have posted a few if only I had a clue how to do that)

Here are a few from this link, Mylife:


Nothing to smile about now: Hernandez slumped down in his chair on Wednesday as a guilty verdict was read (left). Pictured on the right during happier times, playing for the Patriots


New home: Hernandez is starting his sentence at maximum-security prison MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, Massachusetts (pictured above)


Moving: Hernandez will be moved in the coming weeks or moths to the Sousa Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts (pictured above)


Labor: Workers at Cedar Junction's prison manufacture license plates for 50 cents an hour - a far cry from the $40million contract extension Hernandez received from the Patriots in 2012

Thank you for posting the pictures of AH's new home. I think it will be a long time before AH is allowed a really prestigious job like making license plates for 50 cents per hour.

Mylife101 wrote:Thank you for posting the pictures of AH's new home.  I think it will be a long time before AH is allowed a really prestigious job like making license plates for 50 cents per hour.

You're very welcome!

Ex-NFL star Hernandez's murder conviction poses legal challenge
By Scott Malone  10 hours ago


BOSTON (Reuters) - The intense publicity around Wednesday's conviction of former National Football League star Aaron Hernandez for a 2013 murder will make it more difficult to seat an impartial jury in the next trial he faces, on charges of a 2012 double slaying.

However, the sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole that he received for the first-degree murder of an acquaintance, Odin Lloyd, also raises the possibility that prosecutors in Boston would agree to a plea deal that would spare a second trial, legal experts said.

..."You'd have to have been in a cave not to have known about a months-long trial which contained a lot of salacious evidence of bad behavior on Hernandez's part, including, at the end of the day, a murder," said Thomas Peisch, a partner at the Boston law firm Conn Kavanaugh and a former federal prosecutor.

Read more:  http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ex-nfl-star-hernandezs-murder-conviction-poses-legal-150440190--nfl.html

Second trial, appeal mean much for Hernandez

By Travis Andersen |  Globe Staff  April 17, 2015

Even though Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after his first-degree murder conviction in the slaying of Odin L. Lloyd, the stakes will remain high when he stands trial in Boston for the killing of two other men, legal specialists said.

The former New England Patriots star entered the state prison system following his conviction in Bristol Superior Court, where a clerk announced he would remain incarcerated for “a term of your natural life without the possibility of parole.”

But Hernandez is entitled to an appeal before the state’s highest court, and there are “always complex issues that arise in first-degree murder convictions,” said Jeffrey Denner, a prominent Boston defense lawyer.

Read more:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/16/despite-life-term-many-issues-still-pending-for-aaron-hernandez/MgtdYQoDzAU1LY03G9FntK/story.html?hootPostID=3b6c10e21c3dc94fa6640712223bbff8

Aaron Hernandez on suicide watch: report

New York Daily News
BERNIE AUGUSTINE
6 hrs ago


© Dominick Reuter/Pool Photo via AP Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez listens as the guilty verdict is read during his murder trial at the Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Mass., Wednesday, April 15, 2015…

Aaron Hernandez is on suicide watch in the Walpole, Mass., prison he’s being held in following his conviction on murder charges earlier in the week.

The former Patriots tight end is being held at the MCI Cedar Junction facility — just miles from Gillette Stadium — after being found guilty of first degree murder on Wednesday for the slaying of 27-year-old landscaper and semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. TMZ reported on Hernandez’s status in the prison, and also reported that he’s being held in isolation from the rest of the inmates due to his notoriety as a former NFL star. He’ll later be transferred to the Souza-Baranowkis prison in Shirley, Mass.

Read more:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/aaron-hernandez-on-suicide-watch-report/ar-AAba2yZ?ocid=ansnewsNYDailyNews11

Read the Aaron Hernandez murder verdict

Document:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/15/aaron-hernandez-verdict-form-released/2bmqrh2Lo26crdjoR06GnN/story.html?hootPostID=724fca17961ae0cf7bee1b83930ca535


______________________


Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw   ·   Apr 15    
#AaronHernandez juror: says they couldn't agree on premeditation but did agree on extreme atrocity + cruelty, which 1st degree also covers.

https://twitter.com/McCannSportsLaw

Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw   ·   Apr 15    
My updated @SInow legal analysis of #AaronHernandez guilty verdict and his appellate strategy: http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/04/15/aaron-hernandez-guilty-first-degree-murder-odin-lloyd …

https://twitter.com/McCannSportsLaw

Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw  ·   Apr 15    
In an appeal, #AaronHernandez's attorneys will include any juror comments that arguably could suggest jurors didn't correctly apply the law.


Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw  ·   Apr 15    
#AaronHernandez juror: says they couldn't agree on premeditation but did agree on extreme atrocity + cruelty, which 1st degree also covers.


Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw  ·   Apr 15    
#AaronHernandez juror: "the shots--there were six of them--that was extreme."


Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw  ·   Apr 15    
#AaronHernandez juror says the jury didn't need the murder weapon to be certain Hernandez was guilty of murder.


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