Two medical professionals who treated Racquel Smith, the widow of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, have been subpoenaed for a special hearing on March 14, an Orleans Parish court clerk confirmed.
Cardell Hayes’ lawyers to question doctors of Will Smith’s widow before manslaughter sentencing
Two people believed to have treated Racquel Smith after her husband was shot and killed are appearing in court before sentencing.
Dr. Stephen Thon, an orthopedic surgeon at Tulane Medical Center, and Andrea Lott, an occupational therapist at the LSU Health Sciences Center, are believed to have treated Racquel Smith the night that Cardell Hayes, 29, killed her husband last April in New Orleans.
Hayes was convicted in December of attempted manslaughter of Smith, in addition to manslaughter of her husband, after she claimed several times during trial that Hayes shot her in both her legs on the night her husband was killed.
“I felt burning all through my body, and I just kind of grabbed my legs. I didn’t know where I’d been shot but I knew I was shot ... I kind of just played dead,” she testified.
Smith said she was shot in both of her legs with a single bullet, and she showed her wounds to the jury. She also said that she had a surgically inserted metal rod in her right leg.
“He didn’t have that to do to my baby,” she testified, before addressing Hayes directly. “And you know it. Or to me. I didn’t do anything for you to shoot me.”
Hayes’ testimony conflicted with Smith’s. He testified in court that he asked his arresting officers how Smith got shot. He said they told him to “shut up” and keep walking.
“I didn’t shoot Racquel,” Hayes testified. “They saw what they saw, but I know what happened to me. I can only speak for Cardell Hayes.”
The type of bullet that wounded Smith was never determined at any time prior to Hayes’ conviction. She said that the doctors who treated her told her that the bullet fragments in her leg were too dangerous to remove, a claim that went unchecked by Hayes’ defense.
Hayes will be sentenced on March 27. Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzarro said that he wants Hayes to serve consecutive sentences for both manslaughter charges. Combined, Hayes could serve a maximum of 60 years in prison.
“Mr. Hayes is not going to hurt anyone ever again,” the DA said following the trial.
Hayes’ new co-counsel, Paul Barker, was retained after the trial. Hayes was originally supposed to be sentenced on Feb. 17, but his new counsel was granted more time to get up to speed on the case and prepare to file presentencing motions.
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