In interviews the producers of Voyager have said they felt Locarno’s actions in that episode made him “irredeemable”. (TNG Season 5 DVD-special feature, Memorable Missions Year Five: “The First Duty”)
Ask the writers. (I guess they didn’t want actual blood on Paris’ hands, or decided it didn’t make sense for him to be back in the fleet, which is what Lower Decks have done with Locarno)
According to Robert Duncan McNeal, Larcarno gave the impression of being a good guy who made a mistake when in reality deep down he was a bad guy, whereas Paris was the other way around.
So then why get the same actor to play the identical role with a different name, instead of using a character that was planned?
Per Memory Alpha,
Ask the writers. (I guess they didn’t want actual blood on Paris’ hands, or decided it didn’t make sense for him to be back in the fleet, which is what Lower Decks have done with Locarno)
According to Robert Duncan McNeal, Larcarno gave the impression of being a good guy who made a mistake when in reality deep down he was a bad guy, whereas Paris was the other way around.