It has been one year since former Fort Worth Officer Aaron Dean was found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson.
On Tuesday, a hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the criminal courthouse in Fort Worth regarding an appeal his attorneys have filed to get the conviction reversed.
According to court records, his attorneys are appealing his conviction because they believe a Tarrant County judge made errors during Dean's trial last year.
In a brief filed in August, Dean’s attorneys list out four mistakes they claim were made by Judge George Gallagher including not changing the venue for the trial, providing to jurors an incorrect definition of reasonable belief, and a claim that there was a lack of evidence to allow the jury the option of considering a manslaughter charge.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
This is the second appeal filed since the trial.
Dean was sentenced on December 20, 2022 to just over 11 years in prison, which he is currently serving in a unit just south of Houston. He won't be eligible for parole until 2028.
Dean, a white police officer at the time, fatally shot 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson -- a Black woman -- through a window in her Fort Worth home in October 2019. Dean and another officer were responding to a neighbor's non-emergency line call about the doors being open at Jefferson's home.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
She and her little nephew had been playing video games just before she was killed.
Dean did not identify himself as an officer and shot her within moments of seeing her silhouette in a window, according to his body camera footage.
Just last week, Fort Worth city council members approved $3.5 million to go to Jefferson’s nephew in a landmark settlement case.
"We're still heartbroken, and you wish you can undo what happened to Atatiana. But she's not with us and the number one person we must take care of is that young man, her nephew,” said Fort Worth mayor Mattie Parker.
Check back to this article for updates on the hearing, which starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
