04/25/24 10:42:00
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04/25 10:40 CDT Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith faces sentencing for
manslaughter
Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith faces sentencing for manslaughter
By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) --- The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith
during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 is scheduled for
sentencing Thursday in a New Orleans courtroom.
It's the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, has faced sentencing in Smith's death.
He was convicted of manslaughter in December 2016 and later sentenced to 25
years. But the jury vote had been 10-2 and the conviction was later tossed
after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed such non-unanimous verdicts.
Hayes was released on bond after having served more than four years of the
original sentence. He remained free during multiple retrial delays, some due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was taken back into custody following the
unanimous Jan. 27 verdict and has been awaiting sentencing at the New Orleans
jail.
While waiting for court to open, about two dozen of Hayes' family and friends
formed a circle and prayed in the wide courthouse hallway.
Once the courtroom was opened, Hayes' supporters filled the seats behind Hayes,
who was sitting at the defense table, wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles.
Smith was shot eight times --- seven times in the back --- during a
confrontation with Hayes that happened after Hayes' SUV struck the rear of
Smith's vehicle.
Hayes has long said he fired in self-defense. He said he fired only because he
believed a drunken and belligerent Smith had retrieved a gun from his SUV. He
insisted on the stand that he heard a "pop" before he started shooting and that
he did not shoot at Smith's wife, Racquel, who was hit in the legs.
Evidence showed Smith was intoxicated at the time of the confrontation. But
there was no witness or forensic evidence to back up Hayes' claim that Smith
had wielded or fired a weapon. At the January retrial, defense attorney John
Fuller did not call Hayes to testify, but insisted prosecutors had failed to
prove Hayes didn't fire in self-defense.
The overturned verdicts from the 2016 jury also included an attempted
manslaughter conviction in the wounding of Racquel Smith. Hayes was acquitted
of that charge at January's second trial.
Smith, a 34-year-old father of three, was a defensive leader on the Saints team
that lifted spirits in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city
in 2005. He helped carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl
victory in 2010.
Hayes, who owned a tow truck business, once played semi-pro football and is the
father of a young son.
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