DA fighting to have Hernandez murder conviction reinstated

According to CBS Boston, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III has filed an appeal asking a Supreme Court judge to reinstate Hernandez’s murder conviction after it was vacated because of an “archaic rule.”

“This is an archaic rule not based on the Constitution, and it should be  changed,” Quinn wrote in the appeal. “A defendant who commits suicide  should not be able to manipulate the outcome of his post-conviction  proceedings to achieve in death what he would not be able to achieve in  life. We are asking the Supreme Judicial Court to address this  antiquated rule, which does not serve the public interest.”

Even if the legal principle that resulted in Hernandez’s conviction  being overturned is outdated and “archaic,” it still applied at the time  of his death. The decision will likely stand even if the law is changed  at some point