The ex-Saints star’s shooter gets 25 years in prison.
Eight shots were fired at Smith during the altercation with Hayes.
In a New Orleans courtroom on Thursday, the man who shot and killed retired NFL player Will Smith after a fight that followed a vehicle accident in 2016 was given a 25-year jail sentence.
Cardell Hayes, 36, was being sentenced for the second time in relation to Smith’s passing. In December 2016, he was found guilty of manslaughter and given a 25-year sentence. However, the jury’s vote was 10-2, and the conviction was overturned after the US Supreme Court banned these kinds of split decisions.
After serving more than four years of his initial sentence, Hayes was released on bond. Despite several retrial delays, some brought on by the Covid-19 outbreak, he stayed at large. However, he was returned to custody after the unanimous decision on January 27 and had been held at the New Orleans jail awaiting sentencing.
About twenty of Hayes’ family members and friends gathered in the large courtroom hallway and prayed while they waited for the court to open.
Smith’s daughter Lisa, now a teenager, was among those who spoke in court before the sentencing. She said her mother had to relearn to walk after the shooting and she lamented not having her father around for major life events.
“Mr Hayes, you ruined my life,” she said. “You took my father away from me.”
Hayes’ mother Dawn Mumphrey testified in favor of him, expressing her condolences for Smith’s passing. “Our lives are also forever altered,” she whispered, trembling. She gave the judge a sorrowful look. “I beg your forgiveness,” she uttered.
After Hayes’ SUV collided with the back of Smith’s car, a struggle broke out, during which Smith was shot eight times, seven of them in the back.
For a long time, Hayes claimed he fired in self-defense. He claimed he only fired because he thought Smith, who was intoxicated and aggressive, had taken a pistol out of his SUV. On the witness stand, he maintained that he did not shoot at Racquel, Smith’s wife, who was struck in the legs, and that he heard a “pop” before pulling the trigger.
According to the evidence, Smith was drunk when the altercation occurred. However, Hayes’ assertion that Smith had shot or handled a weapon was not supported by any forensic evidence or eyewitness accounts. Defense lawyer John Fuller felt the prosecution had not shown enough evidence to show Hayes did not shoot in self-defense during the retrial in January, but he did not ask Hayes to testify.
Racquel Smith was injured, and one of the attempted manslaughter convictions from the 2016 jury’s overturned judgments contained that conviction. At his second trial in January, Hayes was found not guilty of that crime.
The 34-year-old father of three, Smith led the Saints’ defense and helped to restore hope to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to the city in 2005. In 2006, he contributed to the team’s winning season, and in 2010, he helped the squad win the Super Bowl.
Hayes is a father of a small boy and a former semi-pro football player. He operated a tow truck company.