Hernandez defense strategy

[Joker]

I second that and to add, it was EASY to move on almost immediately. I'll follow the rest of this crap storm on CNN.

 

[Gronkandez]

One of the problems with the brain damage defense is how was he able to pick up the offense so well when so many others has no idea what to do?

 

[Brady6]

One of the problems with the brain damage defense is how was he able to pick up the offense so well when so many others has no idea what to do?

Frontal lobe injuries have more to do with impulse control, aggression, etc. Not really centered around intelligence and learning capabilities.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

defense: I didn't do it

 

[Brady6]

defense: I didn't do it

Yeah he'd be better off pleading guilty. The only thing he has going for him at this point is that he is only 23. So if he can see parole in 20-25 years he can be out in his mid to late 40's. He'll be broke, lonely and unemployable but he'll be free.

 

[supafly]

Yeah he'd be better off pleading guilty. The only thing he has going for him at this point is that he is only 23. So if he can see parole in 20-25 years he can be out in his mid to late 40's. He'll be broke, lonely and unemployable but he'll be free.

You're spot on with the guestimate of 20-25 yrs, since murder two offers parole after as little as 15 yrs. By the time AH did his time and was likely denied parole a couple/few times, he'd still have a shot at getting out in his late 40's or so--early to mid 50's at the latest.

While it's probably his only shot, he didn't hire and pay for that kind of legal team for himself and Wallace to plea out to anything. He seems like an all or nothing kind of guy in my opinion.

He could in theory, plea out to second degree murder and save a ton of money on his legal team--especially if he hid some of that money in his mom or fiancee's name, and did it rather quickly in preparation of the civil suit(s).

 

[Joker]

He pleads to 2nd degree...gets life with a possibility after 15...IF he keeps his nose clean he walks after 15 years on a first shot parole with a 2 year release date or maybe even up to 5. Whatever, he hits the street at the age of 43. His lawyers are not going to eat all his money like everyone says. I'm willing to bet they work out a deal like this, take a chunk of what he HAS and put it into a secure fund of some sort so that he has a safety net when he hits the street.

If....so many ifs....way to early to even begin to see end game strategies. If the state refuses to plea down and he gets life, that's life without parole, the way I read the statute, and no shot at parole. There's a mountain of circumstantial evidence and prosecutors COULD try to grandstand this, but after looking at the defense team, I can see a 2nd degree plea being amenable all the way around. The murdered man's family WILL be able to sit in on any parole hearing after 15 years if they wish, and can make their wishes known to the parole board. As far as Ahern goes, THIS is probably his best out. It's just that this case has so much weirdness swirling all around it.

 

[supafly]

He pleads to 2nd degree...gets life with a possibility after 15...IF he keeps his nose clean he walks after 15 years on a first shot parole with a 2 year release date or maybe even up to 5. Whatever, he hits the street at the age of 43. His lawyers are not going to eat all his money like everyone says. I'm willing to bet they work out a deal like this, take a chunk of what he HAS and put it into a secure fund of some sort so that he has a safety net when he hits the street.

If....so many ifs....way to early to even begin to see end game strategies. If the state refuses to plea down and he gets life, that's life without parole, the way I read the statute, and no shot at parole. There's a mountain of circumstantial evidence and prosecutors COULD try to grandstand this, but after looking at the defense team, I can see a 2nd degree plea being amenable all the way around. The murdered man's family WILL be able to sit in on any parole hearing after 15 years if they wish, and can make their wishes known to the parole board. As far as Ahern goes, THIS is probably his best out. It's just that this case has so much weirdness swirling all around it.

Great thoughts, Joker.

I agree with you that the enormous difference between 1st and 2nd degree murder charges could make it somewhat tempting at times--specifically towards the end, but I don't see it happening in my opinion.

AH seems to be the kind of 'all or nothing' guy, and he hired and paid for his and Wallace's lawyers to fight this one tooth and nail. Not only that, there are some holes that need to be filled in, and my guess is that his attys are painting a reasonable picture for his innocence behind closed doors to him.

Another good point is that a plea agreement may not even be on the table, especially if the prosecution has more damning evidence than they've let out at this point (quite likely). For all we know, they could have one/both of the other defendants testimony, and a lot of other damning evidence such as the recovered white hoodie worn at the scene of the crime. That may even have gun shot residue on it...we likely won't know this info due to the "secret" grand jury indictment that will definitely happen. It's almost a guarantee that they get the grand jury indictment as it isn't difficult at all for the prosecution to get these (actually a major flaw of our criminal justice system).

If some of those things happen, specifically more evidence and/or the grand jury indictment, they may not even accept any potential pleas; but my guess is that this is a wasted conversation anyway due to the unlikelihood that Hernandez would even consider that.

One thing's for sure--he'd better hide some of his money soon, because those civil suits and legal fees are going to ruin him entirely.

 

[Demosthenes]

He doesn't really have any prior bad acts that would be admissible. At this time anyway. And if they use that hit in the Broncos playoff game as the cause that was actually prior to the 2012 double homicide.

If he's claiming that this was due to a head injury suffered fairly recently, then I think that opens the door for all sorts of things that would normally be excluded to be admissible.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Great thoughts, Joker.

I agree with you that the enormous difference between 1st and 2nd degree murder charges could make it somewhat tempting at times--specifically towards the end, but I don't see it happening in my opinion.

AH seems to be the kind of 'all or nothing' guy, and he hired and paid for his and Wallace's lawyers to fight this one tooth and nail. Not only that, there are some holes that need to be filled in, and my guess is that his attys are painting a reasonable picture for his innocence behind closed doors to him.

Another good point is that a plea agreement may not even be on the table, especially if the prosecution has more damning evidence than they've let out at this point (quite likely). For all we know, they could have one/both of the other defendants testimony, and a lot of other damning evidence such as the recovered white hoodie worn at the scene of the crime. That may even have gun shot residue on it...we likely won't know this info due to the "secret" grand jury indictment that will definitely happen. It's almost a guarantee that they get the grand jury indictment as it isn't difficult at all for the prosecution to get these (actually a major flaw of our criminal justice system).

If some of those things happen, specifically more evidence and/or the grand jury indictment, they may not even accept any potential pleas; but my guess is that this is a wasted conversation anyway due to the unlikelihood that Hernandez would even consider that.

One thing's for sure--he'd better hide some of his money soon, because those civil suits and legal fees are going to ruin him entirely.

The other ace in the hole the state has is the weapons charges with their mandatory minimums. If those guns came out of a safe in his house, he's pretty much guaranteed to spend ~10 years or so in prison if this goes to trial.

BTW, even if the state has damning evidence, they could still opt for a plea deal since it would save them the cost of a trial. HLN, of course, would love to see a trial.

 

[Brady6]

You're spot on with the guestimate of 20-25 yrs, since murder two offers parole after as little as 15 yrs. By the time AH did his time and was likely denied parole a couple/few times, he'd still have a shot at getting out in his late 40's or so--early to mid 50's at the latest.

While it's probably his only shot, he didn't hire and pay for that kind of legal team for himself and Wallace to plea out to anything. He seems like an all or nothing kind of guy in my opinion.

He could in theory, plea out to second degree murder and save a ton of money on his legal team--especially if he hid some of that money in his mom or fiancee's name, and did it rather quickly in preparation of the civil suit(s).

Couldn't agree more SF. He is all or nothing in my opinion to and I anticipate he will put forth a defense that will dominate the media and be followed nationwide.

Looking at the Zimmerman trial and the Anthony trial I can only hope that they change his charge to murder in the second degree. These highly publicized cases seem to attract prosecutorial 'greed' in terms of charges. Zimmerman would of been a slam dunk manslaughter, Anthony would of been a slam dunk murder two and Hernandez would be a slam dunk murder two. I know they can add lesser charges to the docket but if the prosecutors case is presented around just the highest charge it certainly doesn't give those charges much of a chance.

If I have not said this before SF I look forward to reading all of your posts, you're far in away my favorite person to hear from. For what it's worth

 

[Brady6]

BTW, even if the state has damning evidence, they could still opt for a plea deal since it would save them the cost of a trial. HLN, of course, would love to see a trial.

I think the state would actually be more likely to deal than Hernandez. Sultan is likely the best trial lawyer in New England. I don't see him pleading this case out, his history indicates he takes most cases to trial, and also has unprecedented success in the appeals process. I see this going to trial, and if convicted I see it being appealed.

 

[Brady6]

If he's claiming that this was due to a head injury suffered fairly recently, then I think that opens the door for all sorts of things that would normally be excluded to be admissible.

Really depends. If its focused around medical experts then the state would have to counter with their own, character witness will be hard for the state to generate. Hernandez was held in high regard by most people and punching a bounce when he was 17 years old and drunk just isn't going to be damaging enough to indicate a long time criminal element.

 

[CPAGuy]

I think the state would actually be more likely to deal than Hernandez. Sultan is likely the best trial lawyer in New England. I don't see him pleading this case out, his history indicates he takes most cases to trial, and also has unprecedented success in the appeals process. I see this going to trial, and if convicted I see it being appealed.

I'm not pretending to know ANYTHING about the New Ngland legal market, but what good does an appeal do for AH? Lets assume he's convicted-he'll likely spend every penny he has left on lawyers, and an appeal would take years-he won't have football ability left by then, and what is he going to do for a living? He'll end up either back in a gang or living on welfare in a trailer park

 

[Brady6]

I'm not pretending to know ANYTHING about the New Ngland legal market, but what good does an appeal do for AH? Lets assume he's convicted-he'll likely spend every penny he has left on lawyers, and an appeal would take years-he won't have football ability left by then, and what is he going to do for a living? He'll end up either back in a gang or living on welfare in a trailer park

Really depends on what he has for grounds in terms of what an appeal would do. Also depends on if he receives life without parole or he has a chance at parole. If he receives life without parole I'd say that a appeal could potentially do a lot.

In terms of what he could do for income, really depends on how he plays things out. The world we live in is so dysfunctional that Hernandez if rehabilitated or at least capable of faking that he is could probably earn a decent income doing speaking events, books and teach kids the dangers and repercussions of bad decisions.

Granted he was not a killer but Chris Herren has carved out a decent career preaching about his resurrection.

 

[Brady6]

I'm not pretending to know ANYTHING about the New Ngland legal market, but what good does an appeal do for AH? Lets assume he's convicted-he'll likely spend every penny he has left on lawyers, and an appeal would take years-he won't have football ability left by then, and what is he going to do for a living? He'll end up either back in a gang or living on welfare in a trailer park

P.S. welcome to the board. I'm newer to Patsfans myself but I have nothing but positives to say about my experience thus far. I hope you have a similar experience!

 

[SB39]

What do my fellow members think will be Aaron Hernandez defense?

I didn't read the articles so I am not sure if I am repeating anything they say, but......

I think Hernandez's best defense at this point is to try and create enough reasonable doubt to suggest that he himself wasn't the actual triggerman. That could be the difference between a sentence measured in years versus one measured in decades.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I didn't read the articles so I am not sure if I am repeating anything they say, but......

I think Hernandez's best defense at this point is to try and create enough reasonable doubt to suggest that he himself wasn't the actual triggerman. That could be the difference between a sentence measured in years versus one measured in decades.

But even if he wasn't the trigger man..there is enough out there to suggest that he set it up and didn't trust him as his surveillance said..."i can't trust anyone anymore" Maybe he didn't pull the trigger..but can still get life

 

[supafly]

If I have not said this before SF I look forward to reading all of your posts, you're far in away my favorite person to hear from. For what it's worth

Thank you very much. That sincerely means a lot to me, and I reciprocate the sentiment fully.

:rocker:

 

[Gumby]

Thank you very much. That sincerely means a lot to me, and I reciprocate the sentiment fully.

:rocker:

:grouphug:
Isn't that special. ....

" You two want to take it to a private room?"

(just kidding. )