Judge rejects deal in slaying of homeless man

BANGOR -- A Maine superior court judge has rejected a plea deal in the killing of a homeless man at a transient campsite in Bangor.

Justice Michaela Murphy gave 58-year-old Stephen James of Bangor until next Friday to accept a new plea offer or withdraw his guilty plea to a manslaughter charge and go to trial on a murder charge.

In July, James pleaded guilty to a charge that he killed 63-year-old Clyde "Pudge" Worster on April 27, 2008, reportedly after a fight over beer.

The Bangor Daily News says Murphy rejected an agreement that would have sent James to prison for 14 years, followed by six years of probation because of the nature of the crime.

The new offer is to have James serve 20 years in prison.