Closing arguments were underway Friday in the manslaughter retrial of Cardell Hayes, who fatally shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith following a traffic crash almost eight years ago.
Hayes was convicted in December 2016 of manslaughter in Smith's death and attempted manslaughter for the gunshot wounding of Smith's wife, Racquel. But the jury vote was 10-2, and the conviction was tossed after the Supreme Court outlawed nonunanimous verdicts. Hayes was released on bond after having served more than four years of a 25-year sentence.
His retrial was delayed for years for various reasons, including court closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors rested their case against Hayes on Friday, and the defence chose not to call witnesses, setting the stage for closing arguments and jury deliberations.
Assistant District Attorney Matt Derbes, during closing arguments, readily conceded that Smith was drunk at the time Hayes ran into the rear of his car before the shooting, and that a loud argument ensued.
He also acknowledged that a gun was in Smith's car. But there was no testimony or evidence indicating he retrieved it. "Nobody sees Will Smith with a gun in his hand," Derbes said.
Hayes, 36, insisted at his 2016 trial that he shot Smith in self-defence during the April 2016 confrontation. Hayes said he fired at Smith, hitting him once in the side and seven times in the back, 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, 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.
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. He has one son.
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Republicans on Sunday sought to distance themselves from Donald Trump's latest insults of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris during a rambling weekend rally in Wisconsin in which he called her 'mentally disabled.'
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When Annie Korver sits down with a new corporate or small business client, she encourages them to focus first on the 'truth' part of Truth and Reconciliation.
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Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
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