Aaron Hernandez appeals; lawyers cite jury's 'guesswork'

Morgan Whitaker
Updated
Aaron Hernandez Lawyers Claim Jury's Conviction Was Not 'Rational'
Aaron Hernandez Lawyers Claim Jury's Conviction Was Not 'Rational'

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Lawyers for former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez have filed an appeal of his murder conviction, saying it was based on "improper speculation, conjecture and guesswork."

The appeal filed this week in Bristol Superior Court says "no reasonable jury" could have found Hernandez guilty of killing Odin Lloyd in June 2013 and cites insufficient evidence for a conviction.

Hernandez was convicted in April of first-degree murder and sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without parole. Lloyd was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins.

Under Massachusetts law, all first-degree murder convictions are automatically appealed.

Jenkins is due in court Friday for a hearing on a perjury charge, which prosecutors are asking a judge to dismiss.

Hernandez is awaiting trial in the killings of two Boston men in 2012.

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