The man who killed former Ohio State defensive end Will Smith was convicted of manslaughter on Saturday.
Cardell Hayes, who fatally shot Smith during a traffic incident in New Orleans in 2016, was found guilty at the conclusion of a retrial on Saturday. Hayes could face up to 40 years in prison after the conviction and will be sentenced in March.
Hayes was originally convicted of manslaughter in December 2016, but the conviction was voided when the Supreme Court outlawed nonunanimous verdicts. He was released on bond in March 2021 after serving more than four years of a 25-year sentence.
Hayes’ defense argued that he shot Smith in self-defense. Per the Associated Press, evidence showed that Smith was intoxicated at the time of the confrontation, but there was no evidence to back up Hayes’ claim that Smith wielded or fired a weapon.
Racquel Smith, Will’s widow, said in a statement Saturday that “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.”
In the retrial of Cardell Hayes, who had been convicted in the shooting of #Saints star Will Smith in 2016, the jury found Hayes guilty of manslaughter with a firearm.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 27, 2024
Statement from Raquel Smith and The Smith Family: https://t.co/0XzNulYMuz pic.twitter.com/ygK97blfS3
Hayes was acquitted of a charge of attempted manslaughter for the shooting that injured Racquel Smith in the same altercation.
Will Smith, who was just 34 years old when the fatal shooting took place on April 9, 2016, was one of Ohio State’s all-time great defensive ends. A key defensive leader on Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team, Smith was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-American in 2003.
Smith was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft and went on to play 10 seasons with the Saints, helping them win their first-ever Super Bowl in 2010.
Smith’s son, Will Smith Jr., is a redshirt freshman defensive tackle for the Buckeyes.
