Robert Tassin Jr. must get a new trial because his wife...

Robert Tassin Jr. must get a new trial because his wife did not tell jurors all the details about her plea agreement with prosecutors, a federal judge has ruled.
The district attorney's office would not say whether it will appeal U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's order to release Robert Tassin Jr., 49, or return his case to state district court.
Georgina Tassin's testimony was the only evidence that Edward "Eddie" Martin was killed during an armed robbery - the aggravating circumstance needed for a 1st-degree murder conviction, Barbier wrote.
Georgina Tassin had been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Judge Jacob Karno, who presided over her husband's trial, said she would get a 10-year sentence if her testimony was consistent, Barbier wrote.
Jurors could have used information about the plea deal to consider whether her testimony about the shooting should be believed, Barbier wrote.
"Georgina Tassin's testimony misled the jury to believe that waiving her marital privilege and testifying against her husband meant to her the difference between a potential life sentence and a potential 99-year sentence, as opposed to a potential life sentence and a likely 10-year sentence," Barbier wrote.
Martin and Wayne Stagner had gone to the Tassins' home on Nov. 6, 1986, to try to buy cocaine, according to court records.
Georgina Tassin testified that she and her husband planned to rob the 2 men. But, she said, her husband got out of the car and, without warning, pulled out a gun, shot the men and left them for dead.
Robert Tassin was convicted in 1987.