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Aaron Hernandez's Lawyer Files Motion to Dismiss His Murder Conviction

Here's what needs to happen for a judge to rule in the former NFL star's favor.

Aaron Hernandez's legal team didn't waste any time.

Days after the former NFL star committed suicideTMZ Sports has learned that Hernandez's lead attorney, Jose Baez, officially filed a motion to have his client's murder conviction dismissed as part of an obscure Massachusetts law.

As previously reported, an outdated and rather bizarre Massachusetts law cites that when a person dies while appealing a criminal conviction that his or her death essentially wipes out all proceedings, spelling that Hernandez technically died an innocent man if the court allows this motion. That would negate Hernandez's 2015 first-degree murder conviction for the 2013 homicide of Odin Lloyd.

Rosanna Cavallaro, a Suffolk University law professor, explained the controversial state law to CNN last week.

"The idea is that if an appeal hasn't happened, there's a chance that a conviction has an error in it," she said. "Rather than have someone with that incomplete decision that they're guilty, the state chooses instead to say that conviction is abated — as if it never had happened."

BET.com reached out to Baez but has yet to hear back.

That being said, the Bristol County D.A.'s office plans to furiously combat Baez's motion, telling TMZ that, "We have been reviewing the matter and intend to file an opposition to the defense motion within the next week."

Meanwhile, Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, is marching forward with her wrongful death civil lawsuit against the former New England Patriots tight end who was found guilty of murdering her son — even if it means that she will have to independently retry the murder charge against Hernandez before a new jury.

Last week, Ward asked the Patriots to do the right thing and give the $6 million in bonuses owed to Hernandez to his victims and not the former gridiron star's family.

BET Sports News — Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports, including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes.

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