http://www.usatoday.com
FALL RIVER, Mass. — Six times on Friday a Superior Court clerk read a charge against Aaron Hernandez and asked for his plea, and six times the former New England Patriots tight end answered in a clear voice:
"Not guilty."
Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder in the June 17 killing of his friend Odin Lloyd, 27, a former semi-pro football player, and also faces five accompanying weapons charges.
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Hernandez, wearing a navy blue suit jacket and white button-down shirt without a tie, was arraigned in a hearing that lasted a little more than 10 minutes in Bristol Superior Court.
Hernandez's lawyers will ask for bail at an Oct. 9 hearing. Until then, he will remain held at a Bristol County correctional facility, where he has been since he was arrested at his North Attleborough, Mass., home on June 26. If convicted, Hernandez, who was released by the Patriots within hours of his arrest, faces a possible sentence of life in prison.
Hernandez's attorneys will attack the circumstantial evidence against their client at the bail hearing next month, but bail is unlikely with other shooting investigations — with possible links to Hernandez — pending.
His attorneys asked the public not to jump to conclusions. The information and evidence that has been released on this case has all been one-sided and untested, they said.
Hernandez attorney Charles Rankin said investigators lack the evidence to convict Hernandez.
"In a sense this is like the opening kick-off and we have a long way to go before the trial," Rankin said. "We're confident that at the end of the trial, Aaron will be exonerated.
"As we explained in (pleadings) before Judge (Frances) McIntyre we are not going to try the case in the media and we would encourage everyone to keep an open mind. Not one shred of evidence has been presented yet and we feel confident that when evidence is finally presented in a court of law that Aaron will be exonerated.
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"Unnamed sources quoted in the media are not authoritative. They can't be questioned, they can't be cross-examined, they're not reliable. So, at the end of the day, we're confident that Aaron is going to be exonerated and we look forward to that process. In the meantime we would encourage people to keep an open mind, let the lawyers and the justice system do its job and we'll see you in another month."
Rankin did not take questions from reporters.
Bristol County district attorney Sam Sutter expressed confidence in the prosecution's evidence.
"Everybody here heard two bail arguments on successive days on June 26 and June 27," Sutter said. "Over 500 pages of documents have been released to the press and the public. Those include applications for search warrants, returns on search warrants, still photographs from video surveillance, Trooper (Eric) Benson's comprehensive arrest warrant report. So I think that evidence speaks for itself."
Asked specifically what the evidence reveals, Sutter replied: "That I think would be giving you my opinion about the evidence and that specifically I cannot do. There has been a tremendous amount of commentary about the evidence and, as I said, there's a tremendous amount of evidence. So I'll stand on what I said."
Sutter said prosecutors would "absolutely" oppose bail for Hernandez.
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