After deliberating for several hours on Saturday, the jury returned its decision after midnight. He was acquitted of Smith’s wife’s attempted murder.
NEW ORLEANS: In the 2016 death of former Saints star Will Smith, Cardell Hayes was convicted guilty of manslaughter.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, the jury deliberated for several hours before returning with its decision. Hayes was acquitted of Smith’s wife Racquel’s attempted manslaughter.
“I devoted my entire being to pursuing justice for Will,” Racquel Smith declared in a statement made public after the trial. “All we have ever wanted was for Mr. Hayes to take accountability for his actions, and we hope that through this verdict, we are one step closer to that becoming a reality.”
Defense lawyers declared they will file an appeal of the ruling, claiming Hayes was not allowed to testify in his own behalf because they thought the prosecution had not satisfied its burden of proving he was not afraid for his life during the conflict.
“It’s especially heartbreaking in this case, having gotten to know Cardell Hayes, having gotten to know him as a father, to know his family and to see the community that he has that supports him,” Sarah Chervinsky, the defense attorney, said.
Judge Camille Buras will sentence Hayes in late March.
Craig Mordock, a legal analyst for WWL Louisiana, stated he anticipates she would impose a sentence akin to the one she imposed in 2016.
“I anticipate that the judge will impose a sentence that is about in line with what she did in the first trial, which was 25 years. She will just state that nothing has truly changed and that my first statement shouldn’t be disturbed.”
Hayes has now been found guilty of the killing twice. In December 2016, a jury had already returned a convicting vote, but it was only 10-2. A few years after that murder, non-unanimous jury verdicts were declared unlawful in Louisiana, and Hayes was granted a second chance at trial along with the defendants in other cases where the verdicts were not unanimous.
Following the last day of testimony on Friday, the decision was made.
In the retrial of Cardell Hayes, the prosecution took a break after summoning roughly ten witnesses.
Unexpectedly, Hayes’ lawyers also took a break without bringing any more witnesses to testify.
A former waitress who heard the crash and gunshots and visited the scene the night of the shooting was one of the witnesses they had summoned out of order earlier.
“This is not the kind of case where you are asked to decide Mr. Hayes is the person who shot and killed Mr. Smith,” prosecutor Matthew Derbes told the jury, which consisted of eight women and four men, on Friday during final arguments.
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