Aaron Dean appeals manslaughter conviction for Atatiana Jefferson’s killing

Hearing held in Aaron Dean's conviction appeal

Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean was not present in court as his attorneys tried to appeal his manslaughter conviction for the 2019 death of Atatiana Jefferson. The justices did not speculate on when an opinion would be provided.

FORT WORTH, Texas - The former Fort Worth police officer convicted of killing Atatiana Jefferson is making another appeal to have his conviction overturned.

Last year, Aaron Dean was found guilty of manslaughter for Jefferson’s death in 2019.

He and his partner were responding to a call about her front door being ajar. She was inside the house playing video games with her nephew at the time, and Dean shot her through a back window.

He was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

On Tuesday, the courtroom was not packed. However, there was increased security with at least half a dozen deputies posted in and around the ninth-floor second appeals court inside the Tim Curry Justice Center.

Dean’s attorneys argued before a panel of three justices, citing several reasons his trial should’ve been moved away from Tarrant County.

They referenced a November 2021 incident where Dean was taunted outside a pretrial hearing.

Lead defense attorney Bob Gill told the panel an abundance of pretrial publicity affected the outcome of the trial. He also said the publicity had racial overtones.

"Dean who is white did not announce himself as a police officer. That was a theme throughout this case," he said.

Another reason Gill gave in hopes of getting Dean’s conviction overturned was what he called biased public statements made by officials, including former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, soon after the shooting.

The state disagreed with the assertions, pointing out that the news coverage mainly focused on pretrial proceedings. Statements by public officials had dissipated by the time Dean’s trial began.

"There is no evidence to show those comments impacted the jury pool," Victoria Oblon argued.

Jefferson’s sister, Ashley Carr, was among those in the courtroom to listen to the arguments.

Dean’s family was also present.

He is still incarcerated and was not in court Tuesday.

The justices did not indicate when a decision would be made.