Aaron Hernandez may just get off

[Elias]

What do you guys think? still a long shot to be free but what the hell!

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Prosecutors in a murder case against Aaron Hernandez won't be allowed to tell a jury about two other killings with which the ex-New England Patriot is charged or the final text messages the victim sent to his sister, a judge ruled Friday.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. He has also pleaded not guilty to the fatal shootings of two men in 2012 after an encounter at a Boston nightclub.

Jury selection in the murder trial of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez for the killing of Odin Lloyd is scheduled to begin Jan. 9.

Prosecutors have said Hernandez may have showed Lloyd the spot where the double shooting allegedly took place, and suggested that was a possible motive for killing Lloyd.

"I don't think that it's fair to say these things aren't relevant," said Assistant District Attorney William McCauley.

But Judge E. Susan Garsh, after hearing arguments, said the prosecution's theory is "clearly in the realm of speculation" and "does not comport with common sense." She said there was no demonstrated link between the two crimes and disallowed the introduction of the 2012 homicides.

Garsh also said Friday she would not admit the final text messages sent by Lloyd to his sister, including one sent just minutes before he was shot to death at an industrial park near Hernandez's North Attleborough home.

Prosecutors say Lloyd sent the messages while in a car with Hernandez and suggested they showed he had become fearful. One said, "U saw who I'm with" and another indicated the person was "NFL," referring to Hernandez, adding "just so u know."

McCauley suggested Hernandez stopped somewhere on the way to the spot Lloyd was killed, saying investigators found dirt in his car's tires that didn't match soil from the crime scene. The car, which had been in "pristine shape" when Lloyd was picked up, was later found to be scratched and the side mirror missing, he said.

Defense lawyers called it "rank speculation" that the texts indicated fear and said they were inadmissible.

Garsh said the texts did not suggest any hostility and that prosecutors didn't meet the burden to prove Lloyd felt he was at an "imminent death."

Jury selection is scheduled to start Jan. 9. Patriots coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft have been listed by prosecutors as possible witnesses.

Garsh also ruled that prosecutors may not introduce the shooting of Alexander Bradley, a former associate of Hernandez. Bradley has filed a civil suit against Hernandez that says the ex-player shot him in the face in 2013 after an argument in Florida.

Massachusetts prosecutors sought to admit a range of evidence related to the ex-player's other alleged crimes or "bad acts," including the Boston homicides, firearms found at Hernandez's home or elsewhere and even a photograph obtained from the celebrity gossip website TMZ that depicts Hernandez holding a gun.

His attorneys warned against compromising his right to a fair trial.

"It is critical that this trial be about the murder of Odin Lloyd," defense attorney James Sultan said Friday.

The judge allowed in some evidence relating to firearms, but disallowed the photograph.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12019208/judge-rules-2012-killings-inadmissible-aaron-hernandez-case

 

[ucrenegade]

Barring a mistrial he is going to prison it just depends on how long for.

 

[sg3]

There's enough evidence on just the one killing to put the murderer away.

Especially after the police exercise a warrant, search Satan in a hoodie ' s office and recover the murder weapon Hernandez gave Beli to hold on that famous white Bronco visit to the training facility shortly before the Patriot Murderer was led out of his house in shackles

The Patriot Way

 

[flgreen]

I've said from the beginning that if one of his boys didn't roll, and they haven't, they didn't have much of a case against him.

With that said, I don't really care what these guys do off the field, as long as they can play on the field, he is a murderer, I don't know if he'll be found guilty, but he will never play in the NFL again.

 

[Xmarco]

He won't get off to big of a profile case but with today's system....

 

[TexasJetPilot]

He's guilty. If not for the actual murder then he's definitely guilty by association or just guilty by being there and witnessing without going to the Police. It does seem odd though that he's still sticking with his story of being innocent even after the evidence against him. There has to be something he and the court knows that we in the public don't. Either way he won't ever play in the NFL again.

 

[Bigmoe]

Won't be the first
Ray Lewis and
Orenthal James Simpson
Both walked

 

[SackExchange]

One of the key victories for the defense so far was keeping his other crimes inadmissible. But in what can only be mind-numbingly dumb logic, the defense pretty much spiked the ball and celebrated. They took full advantage of that lack of admission of evidence, dismissing the motive Hernandez would have in shooting his "friend," a term the defense used more than a dozen times.

The problem is, the defense may have dug their own grave. The other crimes, like the shooting another guy's eye out, were also perpetrated against Hernandez's friends. This could both make that evidence admissible and draw a line to a motive, as it shows Hernandez has a pattern of flying off the deep end and committing criminal acts of violence against those who are close to him. I think the prosecution has even now appealed, in response to the defense's stupidity, to have the other crimes admitted.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

Wish this happened in Texas and not the liberal NE.

 

[TexasJetPilot]

Wish this happened in Texas and not the liberal NE.

I agree. No doubt if he was here in Texas they would've already decided his fate. But at the same time I'm not at all proud of how Texas handles the law. Too many innocent people get locked away here based on technicalities.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

I agree. No doubt if he was here in Texas they would've already decided his fate. But at the same time I'm not at all proud of how Texas handles the law. Too many innocent people get locked away here based on technicalities.

I'm sure those people did something wrong. My only gripe is we give them so many appeals. Once convicted take them straight to execution room!!

 

[TexasJetPilot]

I'm sure those people did something wrong. My only gripe is we give them so many appeals. Once convicted take them straight to execution room!!

Not exactly. Some of Texas' laws are inconsistent. I once got accused of "Aggravated Robbery" because I was drunk and got into a car that resembled mine. Would have been an honest mistake but according to Texas Officials anything you do while drunk can't be blamed on the fact you were wasted or can't remember the incident. That's a little over the top in my opinion. In Texas your innocent until proven guilty. Take the guy that's been locked up for 20 years only to be found innocent later on as an example. The state of Texas now has to pay him for the rest of his life because they made a mistake.

 

[TexasJetPilot]

Actually meant "Guilty until proven innocent". Accident. Haha.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

Not exactly. Some of Texas' laws are inconsistent. I once got accused of "Aggravated Robbery" because I was drunk and got into a car that resembled mine. Would have been an honest mistake but according to Texas Officials anything you do while drunk can't be blamed on the fact you were wasted or can't remember the incident. That's a little over the top in my opinion. In Texas your innocent until proven guilty. Take the guy that's been locked up for 20 years only to be found innocent later on as an example. The state of Texas now has to pay him for the rest of his life because they made a mistake.

I said that in jest for the most part. Sometimes there are examples of innocent people being wrongly accused. Law of averages is in favor of the state getting it right the majority of the time. Not perfect.

 

[HYATT™]

Texas Tops List of Wrongful Conviction Exonerations

A new report released Tuesday shows that a nationwide push by prosecutors to re-examine possible wrongful convictions contributed to a record number of exonerations in 2013. (Published Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014)
Updated at 11:29 AM CST on Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014

A new report released Tuesday shows that a nationwide push by prosecutors to re-examine possible wrongful convictions contributed to a record number of exonerations in 2013.

The National Registry of Exonerations said that 87 people falsely convicted of crimes were exonerated last year.

The joint effort by the Northwestern University and University of Michigan law schools shows that nearly 40 percent of those exonerations were either initiated by law enforcement or included police and prosecutors' cooperation.

Texas topped the state-by-state breakdown with 13 exonerations in 2013, followed by Illinois, New York, Washington and California.

District attorneys in the counties containing Dallas, Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Santa Clara, Calif., are among those with new "conviction integrity" units. The International Association of Chiefs of Police is also pushing to reduce wrongful convictions.

In Dallas, much of the effort to re-examine wrongful convictions is cited to Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins.

Watkins worked to persuade count leaders to establish spend about $450,000 to create the country's first "conviction integrity" unit back in 2006. Since that program started, more than 40 convictions in Dallas County have been overturned.


Currently there are over 150,000 people in the Texas prison system.
Even at a modest 1% wrongful conviction rate there are over 1,500 men and women behind bars, (in Texas alone), at this very moment who do not belong there. We receive over 100 letters a week requesting our assistance and have over 500 cases in line for investigation.


Texas, US leader in wrongful convictions, executes 500th person since 1982
Published time: June 27, 2013 03:47

Texas Justice: Where wrongful convictions are the norm
There's growing evidence that Texas executed an innocent man in 2004.

Let's do a little math.
500 x 1% = 5 people that the State of Texas has MURDERED!
When do they go on trial & get the death penalty?
Illinois, to their credit, stopped executing people completely when they had a death row inmate exonerated 15 years ago.

 

[TexasJetPilot]

Texas Tops List of Wrongful Conviction Exonerations

A new report released Tuesday shows that a nationwide push by prosecutors to re-examine possible wrongful convictions contributed to a record number of exonerations in 2013. (Published Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014)
Updated at 11:29 AM CST on Tuesday, Feb 4, 2014

A new report released Tuesday shows that a nationwide push by prosecutors to re-examine possible wrongful convictions contributed to a record number of exonerations in 2013.

The National Registry of Exonerations said that 87 people falsely convicted of crimes were exonerated last year.

The joint effort by the Northwestern University and University of Michigan law schools shows that nearly 40 percent of those exonerations were either initiated by law enforcement or included police and prosecutors' cooperation.

Texas topped the state-by-state breakdown with 13 exonerations in 2013, followed by Illinois, New York, Washington and California.

District attorneys in the counties containing Dallas, Chicago, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Santa Clara, Calif., are among those with new "conviction integrity" units. The International Association of Chiefs of Police is also pushing to reduce wrongful convictions.

In Dallas, much of the effort to re-examine wrongful convictions is cited to Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins.

Watkins worked to persuade count leaders to establish spend about $450,000 to create the country's first "conviction integrity" unit back in 2006. Since that program started, more than 40 convictions in Dallas County have been overturned.


Currently there are over 150,000 people in the Texas prison system.
Even at a modest 1% wrongful conviction rate there are over 1,500 men and women behind bars, (in Texas alone), at this very moment who do not belong there. We receive over 100 letters a week requesting our assistance and have over 500 cases in line for investigation.


Texas, US leader in wrongful convictions, executes 500th person since 1982
Published time: June 27, 2013 03:47

Texas Justice: Where wrongful convictions are the norm
There's growing evidence that Texas executed an innocent man in 2004.

Let's do a little math.
500 x 1% = 5 people that the State of Texas has MURDERED!
When do they go on trial & get the death penalty?
Illinois, to their credit, stopped executing people completely when they had a death row inmate exonerated 15 years ago.

I knew it wasn't just in my head. Some guy on Death Row just got exonerated in Texas if I'm not mistaken after being so-called guilty for 20 years. Turns out a police officer actually committed the crime. I personally know a number of people that served time for something they didn't do or were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are some cases when the accused can't even take their case to trial because of the base laws that automatically declare you guilty. It's sad but it's just how Texas is. You've got to stay on your toes down here when it comes to the law.

 

[TexasJetPilot]

BUT that being said, Aaron Hernandez is guilty. There's too much evidence against him. Even if he didn't commit the murder (which were all sure he did) he wasn't oblivious and that makes you just as guilty of you stand by while the murder unfolds. All the video, text messages from the victim, broken surveillance cameras, scene of the crime, vehicles involved...the guy has too much against him to just walk. I can understand how Ray Lewis walked but Hernandez is done.

 

[HYATT™]

BUT that being said, Aaron Hernandez is guilty. There's too much evidence against him. Even if he didn't commit the murder (which were all sure he did) he wasn't oblivious and that makes you just as guilty of you stand by while the murder unfolds. All the video, text messages from the victim, broken surveillance cameras, scene of the crime, vehicles involved...the guy has too much against him to just walk. I can understand how Ray Lewis walked but Hernandez is done.

Just like all those people on death row in Texas, eh?
EVERY MAN is innocent until PROVEN guilty BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
Just because you THINK you know the "facts", (as presented by the corporate media and largely based on the word of the authorities because Hernandez ain't talkin'), doesn't mean you ACTUALLY know the FACTS in this case.

 

[TexasJetPilot]

Just like all those people on death row in Texas, eh?
EVERY MAN is innocent until PROVEN guilty BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
Just because you THINK you know the "facts", (as presented by the corporate media and largely based on the word of the authorities because Hernandez ain't talkin'), doesn't mean you ACTUALLY know the FACTS in this case.

Haha. Uh oh. Feelings are at play. Ha. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent. If it was the other way around one's record would be wiped clean after having their case dropped, BUT it's not the case. Once the cuffs are put into your hands for the rest of your life your record will state that you were at least accused of the crime unless you get it expunged. Maybe I don't know the facts but from the information released there is NO WAY he will get off Scott free. Not unless his lawyers exploit some kind of technicality. No innocent man destroys his surveillance equipment, fights the victim days before, or let's someone e use his car for a murder. The evidence is out there. If he didn't do it then he was there and that makes you just as guilty. Regardless it's my opinion so everyone on in this forum can be as upset as they want. It's a forum! Opinions are stated. Since I've joined this forum all I get is attacked for my opinion on topics and its honestly amusing to see people put themselves on pedestals as if they are all-knowing. Good stuff. But for the record the facts are there. Completely different from any case I was referring to in Texas. If there's evidence against you then your fucking guilty.

 

[HYATT™]

Haha. Uh oh. Feelings are at play. Ha. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent. If it was the other way around one's record would be wiped clean after having their case dropped, BUT it's not the case. Once the cuffs are put into your hands for the rest of your life your record will state that you were at least accused of the crime unless you get it expunged. Maybe I don't know the facts but from the information released there is NO WAY he will get off Scott free. Not unless his lawyers exploit some kind of technicality. No innocent man destroys his surveillance equipment, fights the victim days before, or let's someone e use his car for a murder. The evidence is out there. If he didn't do it then he was there and that makes you just as guilty. Regardless it's my opinion so everyone on in this forum can be as upset as they want. It's a forum! Opinions are stated. Since I've joined this forum all I get is attacked for my opinion on topics and its honestly amusing to see people put themselves on pedestals as if they are all-knowing. Good stuff. But for the record the facts are there. Completely different from any case I was referring to in Texas. If there's evidence against you then your fucking guilty.

Whether he's guilty in YOUR mind doesn't really count for squat.
What matters is what the State can PROVE, via allowed evidence entered and handed to a jury of 12, and THEIR opinion on whether or not the State met it's burden of PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
There are no feelings at play here, on HYATT™'s part, those are just the FACTS of American jurisprudence, be it in Texas, Boston, or in Podunk, WV.

Without a corroborating witness, one of his homies - who've all refused to testify - the ACTUAL evidence is almost non-existent.
The circumstantial evidence - that which the prosecution ALLEGES - is abundant, but we aren't supposed to convict someone on the prosecution's OPINION, only provable FACTS.
If I had to hazard a guess, Hernandez eventually is convicted of obstructing justice and not much else - though serious breeches of procedure do occur all the time, as Project Innocence will attest.
AH has 40 MILLION reasons why he probably gets off. Even the State will be hard-pressed to outspend him.