Aaron Hernandez hires new defense team

— -- Convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez has hired a new defense team that includes Florida attorney Jose Baez, who represented Casey Anthony, the Orlando mother who was acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.

Baez confirmed the role in a statement, saying Harvard law professor Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., criminal defense attorney Alex Spiro, and forensic science counsel Linda Kenney Baden also will be part of the new team. 

"Mr. Hernandez strongly maintains his innocence, and I plan to establish that before a jury of his peers," Baez said in a statement. "I have fully committed myself to ensuring a fair and just trial for Mr. Hernandez.  

"We understand that numerous reports of our client's alleged activity have been published, but we ask the public to afford Mr. Hernandez the presumption of innocence and let the facts unfold in a court of law." 

Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, was convicted in the April 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée. Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

His previous team of attorneys, led by James Sultan, filed an appeal in that case last month.

Hernandez also is awaiting trial on murder charges in Boston, where he is accused of gunning down two men outside a nightclub in 2012. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.