MIAMI -- (AP) -- The leader of a Cuban spy ring asked Friday to have his murder conspiracy conviction erased in the Cuban MiG attack that killed four Miami fliers in 1996.

 The six-month trial was ``absolutely devoid'' of evidence that the plot contemplated an attack in international airspace as the indictment charged, said Paul McKenna, attorney for Gerardo Hernandez.

 U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard was asked to order an acquittal based on her instructions requiring the jury to find Hernandez agreed to the location, not just that the fliers ended up being killed in international airspace.

 Asked to respond, lead prosecutor Caroline Miller said: ``I haven't seen it. I'll take a look at it when it comes in. I probably will oppose it.''

 In support of his motion, McKenna cited an unsuccessful appeal by prosecutors shortly before closing arguments to discard the instructions, saying the wording on
 Hernandez's most serious count amounted to ``an insurmountable hurdle.''

 McKenna considers the judge's decision on jury instructions ``a watershed moment in the trial'' because, he said, the evidence pointed to a Cuban response to an earlier airspace violation or leafletting by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

 He also accused Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kastrenakes of misstating the law in closing arguments to confuse the jury about the requirements for conviction.

 Sofia Powell-Cosio, attorney for Brothers to the Rescue founder Jose Basulto, called the judge's instructions ``ridiculous'' but also said the jury did ``exactly what she told them to do.''

 Hernandez faces a life prison term on the murder count if it is allowed to stand. He and two other agents could face life on an espionage conspiracy count while two other co-defendants face up to 10 years in prison on charges of failing to register as foreign agents and of conspiracy. All five were found guilty last week.

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