Hours after Blaise Taylor was found guilty of murder, his attorney said they plan to appeal the decision.
Letitia Quinones-Hollins, Taylor’s attorney, told USA TODAY Sports in a statement that they “respect the jury system and the process” but disagree with the guilty verdict.
Advertisement
“While we respect the jury system and the process, we must also respectfully disagree with today’s verdict and plan to appeal the decision because Blaise did not do this,” she said in the statement. “He maintains that he is innocent and we will continue working to prove that. We understand and respect the pain that Ms. Benning’s family and friends feel over her tragic death and the death of her unborn baby, but putting an innocent man behind bars is also a tragedy.”
Quinones-Hollins was cut off partway through her closing argument to the jury at the end of the trial on July 1. The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported she had to “rush through the remaining slides of her presentation.”
BLAISE TAYLOR TRIAL: Former Titans scout guilty of murdering pregnant woman with cocaine
Taylor, 30, is facing life in prison for allegedly poisoning 24-year-old Jade Benning, who was pregnant with a child authorities say Taylor fathered, with a lethal dose of cocaine in 2023. The former scout faced four total counts of murder – including two for felony murder – in the trial.
Advertisement
After an eight-day trial, the jury deliberated for under three hours before returning with a guilty verdict for one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and two counts of felony murder. The jury unanimously recommended life imprisonment for the first-degree murder charge.
A judge will sentence Taylor on the second-degree murder conviction and decide whether his sentences will run concurrently or consecutively on Sept. 9, 2026.
USA TODAY Sports’ Nick Brinkerhoff contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Titans scout found guilty of murdering pregnant woman with cocaine will appeal
