“Attorneys for Aaron Dean seek to overturn manslaughter conviction for killing Atatiana Jefferson.”
Attorneys for Aaron Dean, the police officer who killed Atatiana Jefferson, want his manslaughter conviction overturned.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Attorneys for the former Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in 2019 argued Tuesday his manslaughter conviction should be overturned.
Aaron Dean’s lawyers told a three-judge panel a lower court should’ve moved the officer’s trial away from Fort Worth, where the shooting prompted protests and drew significant media attention.
The attorneys contend the Tarrant County jury was affected by “influential individuals” who publicly offered opinions about the case, including Fort Worth’s former mayor and police chief.
A jury convicted Aaron Dean of manslaughter in December 2022 for the October 2019 shooting. Dean, who did not appear in court Tuesday, is serving an 11-year sentence at the W.F. Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas.
He’s eligible for parole on Nov. 28, 2028.
The state’s attorneys contend there is no evidence public official’s comments about the case impacted the jury pool. Three years and the COVID-19 pandemic passed between the shooting and the trial, they noted.
During pre-trial jury selection, 43% of 191 prospective jurors told attorneys they had no knowledge of the case.
Dean’s attorneys told justices that courts should be skeptical of potential jurors assertions during jury selection, suggesting some of the jurors had “subconscious knowledge” of the trial that influenced the trial’s outcome.
In the last six decades, state’s attorneys say Texas appellate courts have only once overturned a similar conviction on grounds the venue should’ve changed: the case against Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald.
The panel from the Second District’s Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision in the coming weeks.
Oral arguments happened five days after Fort Worth city leaders agreed to settle a lawsuit related to the case. Jefferson’s nephew, who witnessed the shooting, is slated to receive $3.5 million in the agreement, the largest settlement in Fort Worth’s history.
Attorneys for Aaron Dean, the former Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in 2019, are seeking to have his manslaughter conviction overturned. They argued on Tuesday that the officer’s trial should have been moved away from Fort Worth, where the shooting sparked protests and received extensive media coverage.
Dean’s lawyers claim that the Tarrant County jury was influenced by “influential individuals” who publicly expressed their opinions about the case, including the city’s former mayor and police chief. They believe that these public officials’ comments may have swayed the jury’s perception of the case.
In December 2022, a jury convicted Aaron Dean of manslaughter for the October 2019 shooting. He is currently serving an 11-year sentence at the W.F. Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas, and will be eligible for parole on November 28, 2028.
The state’s attorneys, however, argue that there is no evidence to suggest that the public officials’ comments had any impact on the jury pool. They point out that three years and the COVID-19 pandemic intervened between the shooting and the trial. During the pre-trial jury selection process, 43% of the prospective jurors stated that they had no knowledge of the case.
Dean’s attorneys also questioned the validity of these assertions, suggesting that some jurors may have had subconscious knowledge of the trial that influenced the outcome. They urged the justices to be skeptical of the potential jurors’ statements.
The state’s attorneys countered that Texas appellate courts have only once overturned a similar conviction on the grounds that the venue should have been changed. They cited the case against Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, as the only instance in the last six decades where a conviction was reversed for this reason.
The panel from the Second District’s Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision on this matter in the coming weeks.
The oral arguments took place just five days after Fort Worth city leaders agreed to settle a lawsuit related to the case. As part of the settlement, Jefferson’s nephew, who witnessed the shooting, will receive $3.5 million, the largest settlement in Fort Worth’s history.
The outcome of this appeal will determine whether Aaron Dean’s manslaughter conviction stands or if he will be granted a new trial. The case has attracted significant attention due to its implications regarding police accountability and the use of force..
Source
Matt Houston (WFAA) said Fort Worth, Texas: Aaron Dean attorneys push for appeal of trial
RELATED STORY.