sport news Man who fatally shot ex-Saints star Will Smith after 2016 car crash gets 25 ... trends now

The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 has received a 25-year prison sentence in New Orleans.

Thursday was the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, had faced sentencing in Smith's death. He was convicted of manslaughter 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.

After a new trial, Hayes was convicted by a unanimous jury in January, rejecting defense arguments that Hayes had fired in self-defense, thinking that a drunken and belligerent Smith had retrieved a gun from his SUV.

'This court has struggled with this case since the time I got it,' said state District Judge Camille Buras, who presided in both trials. Before sentencing Hayes, she acknowledged the strong support he received from friends and family, and testimony that he had been a model prisoner. But she noted that both Hayes and a companion were armed when they exited Hayes' car after the crash. And she said Smith was unarmed as he retreated to his car 'perhaps to arm himself, perhaps not.'

Smith was shot eight times - seven times in the back - during the confrontation.

Buras also noted the damaging force with which Hayes' Hummer rammed Smith's SUV on the night of the crash. Surveillance video from the night of the shooting showed Smith's Mercedes SUV possibly bumping Hayes' Hummer, then driving off. Hayes followed them. He has said he did not intend to ram Smith's car and the jury acquitted him on a charge related to the ramming at the 2016 trial.

Prosecutors had asked for the 25-year sentence, saying Hayes, while he has expressed sorrow, has never acknowledged wrongdoing. Defense lawyer Sarah Chervinsky didn't directly ask for a specific

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