Prosecutors working for the family of murder-victim Odin Lloyd filed proceedings on Friday last week that will seek to overturn the voiding of Aaron Hernandez's first-degree murder conviction.

Hernandez had been convicted of first-degree murder in the 2013 slaying of Odin Lloyd, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hernandez committed suicide in jail on April 19th, 2017.

Technically, a Massachusetts legality, “abatement ab initio” means that Hernandez’s conviction couldn’t be upheld because he died before his appeal was complete.

Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III filed an appeal with a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court on Friday, calling the rule "archaic" and claiming it "does not serve the public interest."

"A defendant who commits suicide should not be able to manipulate the outcome of his post-conviction proceedings to achieve in death what he would not be able to achieve in life," Quinn said.

The Prosecution argued that these laws no longer serve the public interest, and that the court system needs to balance the rights of the defendants with the rights of their victims. Many other states have moved away from the practice of “abatement ab initio” for this reason.

Lloyd's family was devastated when Hernandez’s conviction was voided.