A Tennessee man convicted in the fatal shooting of his teacher wife’s student lover will spend most of a four-year sentence on probation.

Eric McLean had faced possible life in prison when he was tried for murder in the 2007 slaying of 18-year-old Sean Powell. Powell was the lover of his now ex-wife, Erin McLean.

But a Knox County jury in September convicted the 33-year-old of the lesser charge of reckless homicide.

On Friday, Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz sentenced him to the maximum four years. But she sent him to jail for 47 days with the remainder on probation.

McLean admitted shooting Powell but said it was an accident.