Aaron Hernandez Prosecutors Fight To Keep Murder Conviction After Death

Prosecutors in Massachusetts don't think Aaron Hernandez should die an innocent man and just filed a motion to stop his murder conviction from being dismissed.

As we previously reported, Hernandez's legal team asked a judge to throw out his 2015 murder conviction citing a Mass. legal doctrine called abatement ab initio -- which means if a person dies while appealing a criminal case, the conviction is thrown out.

However, the Bristol County D.A.'s Office is opposing, saying Hernandez should not be "rewarded" for killing himself, and the abatement law shouldn't be recognized in this case.

In docs, the D.A. says the law is outdated and not recognized in several states. They also claim it's not applicable if someone dies by suicide instead of natural causes.

Further, the D.A. says the dismissal would be disrespectful to the victim's family, and screw up the civil suits pending against Hernandez.