A former Fort Worth police officer has asked a state judge to throw out his manslaughter conviction for the death of a Black woman who was shot through a window in 2019 while spending quality time with her young nephew.
Aaron Dean, who is white, is currently serving a 12-year sentence after a Tarrant County jury convicted him of manslaughter for killing 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her mother’s home in Texas four years ago.
Last week, defense attorney Bob Gill argued in a Fort Worth courtroom that Dean didn’t get a fair trial due to intense media coverage in Tarrant County, and that two judges had made a mistake by each denying a change of venue.
In his opening statement to clear Dean, Gill suggested that the latest proceeding had caused a major commotion in the media, saying “I don’t remember a time where I saw oral argument in a case make the front page of the Star-Telegram above the fold,” in a reference to Fort Worth’s local paper, according to a new report on the case by Law & Crime.
“Part of our argument is based on that extensive publicity, and part of our argument is based on the fact that all of that publicity was generated … by a dangerous combination of individuals in Tarrant County,” Gill added. “Elected officials. High-ranking social officials. Police officials. Many people who all contributed to the narrative in this case that led to Aaron Dean’s conviction.”
The judge in the case has not yet issued a ruling.
Dean was convicted in the case a year ago in December.
Back in August, Dean’s defense filed a court brief claiming that jurors were provided with inaccurate definitions for manslaughter and murder when they were sent away for deliberations at the end of the trial, whereas Gill’s argument this time around was centered primarily on pre-trial publicity.
Dean could have faced 99 years behind bars if the jury had convicted him on the charge of murder, to which he earlier pleaded not…
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