US judge rejects plea bargain for killer of 8 people

A plea deal for twice-convicted killer Juan Smith was rejected by a Louisiana judge after the arrangement was agreed to by prosecuting and defense attorneys. Lawyers spent six hours hammering out a deal late Monday, after which Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Frank Marullo took only minutes to dismiss their proposal, the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Tuesday. They asked the judge to vacate Smith's current life sentences in exchange for two manslaughter pleas and an 80-year prison term. Smith, 39, seeks to overturn his conviction in three murders in a 1995 incident. In a court hearing in 2012, Marullo nullified Smith's death penalty while upholding the conviction, reasoning the jury was inappropriately swayed by Smith's previous conviction, months earlier, in which police said Smith and four other men killed five people.