A sentence change assures the man who killed ex-Saints star Smith gets credit for home incarceration

Published Jul. 23, 2024 7:34 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 25-year prison sentence for Cardell Hayes, the man who killed former New Orleans Saints start Will Smith in 2016, was reduced to 22 years and two months on Tuesday by a Louisiana judge who sought to give Hayes credit for the time he spent confined to his home before his latest trial.

Hayes, 36, was sentenced earlier this year to 25 years for manslaughter for fatally shooting Smith during a confrontation following a traffic crash. At the time of his sentencing, Judge Camille Buras said she would give Hayes credit for his home incarceration. Prosecutors objected, saying state law doesn't allow such credit.

New Orleans news outlets report that Buras re-sentenced Hayes Tuesday, reducing the original 25-year sentence by 34 months.

Hayes was first convicted in Smith's death in December 2016 and later sentenced to 25 years. But the jury vote had been 10-2, and the conviction was later tossed after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed such non-unanimous verdicts. He was convicted of manslaughter again in a January trial.

Hayes has long said he fired in self-defense. During his first trial, he testified that he heard a “pop” before he started shooting.

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.