(Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The state's highest court has reinstated former Patriots player Aaron Hernandez's 2013 murder conviction in the killing of Odin Lloyd.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled against the legal principle that had initially erased that conviction after Hernandez took his own life in prison in 2017.
That principle, under the Latin phrase "ab initio," claims a defendant who dies before their appeal should no longer be considered guilty, sending the case back to pre-trial status.
Prosecutors argued that long-time principle wasn't fair to victims, and is long outdated.
Boston Attorney Phil Tracey told WBZ NewsRadio the ruling is good for Lloyd's family.
"This means a lot to the Odin Lloyd family, because now they're going to be able to pursue a civil remedy, damages of course, against the estate of Aaron Hernandez," he said.