The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard a petition seeking a new trial from Cardell Hayes on Wednesday in the 2016 shooting death of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith on Wednesday.
According to Kevin McGill of the Associated Press, Hayes’ attorney, Paul Barker, told the court that prosecutors in the original case failed to disprove the notion that Hayes acted in self-defense. Hayes and Smith ended up in a confrontation following a traffic collision when Hayes shot and killed Smith and wounded his wife, Racquel.
Hayes was convicted of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in jail.
Barker claimed a new trial should be granted as a new witness has come forward supporting Hayes’ claims that Smith fired a guy first, which resulted in Hayes’ retaliation in self-defense. However, Smith’s gun was deemed to be loaded and unused by authorities. The witness, Michael Burnside, had been deemed not credible at a hearing last year after delivering scattered testimony.
The defense also claimed they should have been able to introduce evidence of Smith’s arrest on a domestic violence charge to refute the testimony of character witnesses such as Smith’s teammates with the Saints that spoke unflinchingly about his high reputation.
It’s uncertain when a decision on the appeal will be issued by the court.