Aaron Hernandez trial moves to final stages


Vincent Frank, SportsNaut:
It’s been about two months since the prosecution started to plead its case to the jury in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. Those two months were filled with damning evidence linking the former New England Patriots tight end to the murder of Odin Lloyd back in 2013.

After 39 days of testimony and a whopping 131 witnesses, the prosecution has rested its case against Hernandez. This means that the defense will have an opportunity to actually defend its client against the charges. That opportunity will not come until Monday due to the Good Friday holiday.

The prosecution finished their deliberations on Thursday in the murder case against Aaron Hernandez. In the 1993 O.J. Simpson criminal murder trial, only 34 witnesses took the stand. The memorabilia robbery trial involving the all-time great running back in Las Vegas in 1996 had 101 witnesses in 41 days heading to the witness stand, including O.J. Simpson.

The defense in the Odin Lloyd murder case will present their case on Monday, and will call to the stand their witnesses. One potential witness could be New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick. This past week, Patriots' owner Bob Kraft testified in saying that Aaron Hernandez had "lied to him on his whereabouts the night of the shooting of semi-pro football player, Odin Lloyd."



The trial has moved at a brisk pace. Judge Susan Garsh removed one juror in the final week.
"Discharge of the juror is indeed in the best interest of justice," Garsh said. The juror had lied as to how many Patriots games she actually did attend on the courtroom questionnaire. Judge Susan Garsh has kept a close watch on the jurors. This was a key point in holding onto 12 prospective jurors and five alternates. Her ability in controlling the jury pool prevented what could have been a mistrial.

Hernandez faces life imprisonment if convicted of killing Odin Lloyd. The double murder in 2012 will be the next trial on the agenda for Aaron Hernandez. That incident was sparked by a spilled drink in a Boston nightclub.

Aaron Hernandez has been able to fool the public for a number of years. Could he really go all in, and take the stand in his own defense? Right now, he is facing fourth and long.



Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire. .

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

For more of my articles, click here.





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