Second, be prepared to hear the phrase “taken out context” mentioned repeatedly by Hernandez’s attorneys. Every piece of evidence that portrays Hernandez as guilty will be regarded as “taken out of context.” Here are some examples:
• A videotape where Hernandez is shown walking with a gun on the night of the murder. His lawyers will likely assert commonality, that this is not unusual behavior by Hernandez. Perhaps they can show with some corroborating evidence or testimony that Hernandez walks around with guns with regularity to protect his property.
• A text where Hernandez says “you can’t trust anyone anymore” right before he picks up Lloyd. Hernandez’s lawyers might maintain that while he was perhaps unhappy with Lloyd he was not planning to kill or hurt him, especially since they knew each other. Records of other texts where Hernandez uses that type of language and didn’t commit crimes would be helpful.
• Hernandez’s home was cleaned the day after the murder. If his home is professionally cleaned regularly then even if the cleaners had the effect of interfering the police’s work it does not show Hernandez’s intent to harm.
• Hernandez lied to the police. Hernandez’s lawyers can argue that any lies had no effect on the police’s investigation and therefore caused no legal harm. They might also assert that Hernandez had a constitutional right under the Fifth Amendment to not incriminate himself in conversations with the police. Along those lines, much has been said of Hernandez being “uncooperative”, but he’s protected from self-incrimination and thus had a right to not answer certain questions.