CLINTON — An East Feliciana judge denied an early release for a man who killed seven people in a 2012 drunk driving crash.

Brett Gerald pleaded guilty to seven counts of vehicular homicide after he drunkenly drove on La. 67 in Slaughter, causing a head-on collision that killed a family of six and their friend. His blood-alcohol concentration at the time was nearly twice the legal limit, and he has a history of DUI arrests.

Gerald was originally sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for each count, a total of 70 years. However, his sentence was cut in half a few months later due to a Supreme Court ruling, and he was re-sentenced to five years per count. He is required to serve 85 percent of that sentence.

On Tuesday morning, Gerald and his attorneys attempted to get him out of jail on a post-conviction relief petition, claiming he had ineffective counsel at the time of his trial. Judge Sydney Picou Walker denied the motion, keeping Gerald in jail for the time being. 

Gerald's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.