I'm actually surprised by this guilty verdict of 1st degree murder. I expected a guilty verdict, but of something less. I believe it was established that he was there when the murder occurred, but didn't actually commit the murder itself. From what I've read, there was no direct evidence which connected him to the murder. No witnesses, no forensic evidence in any way. Just circumstantial evidence. http://abcnews.go.com/US/aaron-hernandez-found/story?id=30155008
He went there with the intent of committing a murder. That's all that's required when the murder is actually committed.
I get that, but I still expected a guilty verdict of 2d degree murder. His lawyers admitted that he was present, but claimed he had no knowledge of the planned murder.
Yes, I figured many people would buy that. They have in the past. I can think of one high profile athlete who got away with a brutal double murder. I can think of at least one hollywood actor who killed his girlfriend and walked. Everyone knew they were guilty. In the OJ case, members of the jury even admitted after the trial that they thought he was guilty, but voted not guilty for other reasons. I'm just surprised that he got the max. Especially after more than a week of jury deliberations. I didn't expect him to walk away, but I expected a guilty verdict on a lesser charge.
