Man convicted in death of wife's teen lover

updated 5:27 p.m. ET Sept. 11, 2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A Tennessee teacher's husband charged with first-degree murder in the death of her student lover has been convicted on a lesser charge.

A jury found Eric McLean guilty of reckless homicide Thursday in the March 2007 death of 18-year-old Sean Powell outside McLean's home.

The 33-year-old McLean testified that he only wanted to scare Powell away when he approached him with a rifle. He says the teen grabbed the barrel, and as McLean pulled back with his finger on the trigger, the gun accidentally went off.

McLean faces a maximum of two to four years in prison, much less than the mandatory 51 years for a first-degree murder conviction.

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