Man who killed NFL star Will Smith in 2016 New Orleans shooting is convicted of manslaughter in retrial

Originally Published: 31 JAN 24 10:55 ET By Jamiel Lynch, Rebekah Riess and Aya Elamroussi, CNN

(CNN) — The man who fatally shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith after a car crash in 2016 has been convicted of manslaughter in a retrial, prosecutors said.

Cardell Hayes was first convicted of manslaughter in Smith’s killing by a non-unanimous jury in December 2016. He was also convicted of attempted manslaughter in the shooting of Smith’s wife, Racquel Smith.

In 2018, Louisiana voters passed a law that ended convictions with a non-unanimous verdict from juries. The law was challenged in the US Supreme Court and upheld in 2020.

The law was not retroactive to include Hayes’ 2017 conviction, but because he had not yet exhausted the appeals in his case, he was granted a new trial.

Over the weekend, a jury unanimously convicted Hayes of manslaughter in Smith’s death, Keith Lampkin of the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office said. The jury also acquitted him of attempted manslaughter related to the shooting of Smith’s wife, Lampkin said.

Hayes, who has already served more than five years from the previous conviction, now faces up to 40 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27.

CNN reached out to Hayes’ attorneys for comment.

The shooting happened after 34-year-old Smith and his wife had dinner at a New Orleans restaurant in April 2016 and left in a vehicle, police said at the time. Hayes was driving behind them and rear-ended the couple’s car, police said.

At some point, Hayes and Smith “exchanged words,” and Hayes shot Smith multiple times, police said. Racquel Smith was shot in the leg, investigators said.

Smith was the 18th pick in the 2004 NFL draft and played his entire career, 10 seasons, with the Saints at defensive end. He was part of the 2010 squad that beat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. He attended Ohio State University, where he won a national championship in 2002.

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