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New trial in ex-football hero's killing can't be for murder

Joe McKnight Killed Retrial Football
Posted at 1:19 PM, Feb 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-11 15:20:24-05

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana judge says the new trial for the man convicted in the shooting death of a former NFL player cannot include a murder charge.

Ronald Gasser was tried for second-degree murder in 2018 in the shooting death of Joe McKnight following a traffic dispute.

But the jury came back with a 10-2 vote on a manslaughter conviction, The Associated Press reported.

Now, Gasser is getting a new trial because the U.S. Supreme Court said his conviction by a non-unanimous, 10-2 vote was unconstitutional.

The Times-Picayune|The New Orleans Advocate reports that a judge ruled Wednesday that Gasser's trial cannot include a murder charge without violating the constitutional protection against double jeopardy.

Prosecutors said they would appeal the ruling, The AP reported.