A Louisiana appeal court ruled yesterday that the man who killed former NFL player Joe McKnight cannot be tried again on a murder charge, now that his conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter has been overturned.
Ronald Gasser was originally convicted for second-degree murder in the road rage shooting death of McKnight, who played the first three seasons of his career with the Jets from 2010-’12.
The 10-2 manslaughter conviction was thrown out, along with Gasser’s 30-year prison term, and a new trial was ordered after the Supreme Court ruled non-unanimous verdicts unconstitutional.
Prosecutors had hoped to get another chance at seeking a murder conviction against Gasser. But state District Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach ruled in February that trying him for murder again would violate his constitutional protection against double jeopardy.
