(Photo: Stephan Savoia)
Don’t cry over spilled milk, unless you happen to be an NFL star, of course. On April 14 former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was acquitted for double murder over what prosecutors are saying was a result of anger provoked by a spilled drink. The 27 year old is already serving a life sentence for a murder committed in 2013. Dodging the first-degree murder charges, Hernandez was charged only with unlawful possession of a gun, adding four to five years to his existing sentence.
The families of victims Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado are crushed by the outcome of the trial, and feel especially upset with how the defense portrayed the deceased men as drug dealers and gang bangers. "These were two hardworking, humble, Cape Verdean immigrants," according to their lawyer, who feels, "It was unnecessary and it was wrong, and it shouldn't have been done."
From a different perspective, one of Hernandez’s defense lawyers, Jose Baez remarked, "I wish he'd called me (for the first trial). I think there are plenty of flaws in that conviction. If they are exposed properly, he certainly can and should get a new trial." And this is not Baez’s first time going to court for a famous case - he is known for representing Casey Anthony in the acquittal of the death of her daughter in 2008. Baez and his team of defense attorneys theorize that Hernandez’s friend Alexander Bradley played an important role in the murders and that he was a negative influence in Hernandez’s life.
Alanna Shingler Staff Reporter