GRETNA, La. -- A law professor is taking up the appeal of the man convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 road rage shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight.
Loyola University's Dane Ciolino told the New Orleans Advocate that he already has law students working on 56-year-old Ronald Gasser's appeal, which he has taken up pro bono. He said the appeal will focus on the trial court judge's decision to permit jurors to hear testimony about Gasser's prior arrest for an alleged road rage incident at the same intersection.
Ciolino said the admission of reports of the prior incident was "indefensible" and tainted the trial.
Gasser was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The trial court judge rejected his motion to reconsider his sentence last week.