Aaron J. Hernandez’s first-degree murder conviction must be reinstated, the state’s high court stated in a ruling released Wednesday.

“We conclude that the doctrine of abatement ab initio is outdated and no longer consonant with the circumstances of contemporary life, if, in fact, it ever was. Rather, when a defendant dies irrespective of cause, while a direct appeal as of right challenging his conviction is pending, the proper course is to dismiss the appeal as moot and note in the trial court record that the conviction removed the defendant's presumption of innocence, but that the conviction was appealed and neither affirmed nor reversed because the defendant died,” Justice Elspeth Cypher wrote in the court’s decision.

The legal principle known by the Latin phrase "ab initio," came under scrutiny last year when Hernandez, a former New England Patriots star and convicted killer, was found dead in his prison cell. Hernandez, 27, was found guilty in 2015 of killing semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. His suicide came days after he was acquitted of most charges in a separate double-murder case.

A judge threw out Hernandez's conviction after his death, citing the legal principle that holds that it's unfair to keep a conviction in place before a defendant had a chance to clear their names on appeal.

During a November hearing before the court, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn argued that vacating Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction is "fundamentally unfair."

"We're here because he was convicted," Quinn told the justices. "To just snap your fingers and have it go away is not fair."

Lawyer John Thompson, who said he was representing “the spirit of Aaron Hernandez,” said this would be unfair as the defendant - a critical part of any case - is dead, and cannot provide context or help to attorneys to properly appeal his case.