BOSTON - Prosecutors have asked a judge to reject a request by attorneys for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez to dismiss his murder conviction.

In court documents filed Monday, prosecutors argue that dismissing the conviction would reward Hernandez for his "conscious, deliberate and voluntary act" of suicide.

Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in Lloyd's 2013 killing. The former New England Patriots tight end hanged himself in prison last month, five days after being acquitted in a separate double slaying in 2012.

Last week, his lawyers asked that his murder conviction be vacated under case law in Massachusetts that has held that when a defendant dies before an appeal is decided, the conviction is vacated. Hernandez's appeal hadn't been heard yet when he killed himself.