Termine » oes not follow the IOCs declared zero tolerance policy,

Cardell Hayes was found guilty Sunday of manslaughter in the shooting death of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith and attempted manslaughter for injuring Smiths wife, Racquel.The verdict ended a weeklong trial in which the defendant insisted he fired only because Smith was drunk and violent and had grabbed a gun following a traffic crash on the night of April 9.The manslaughter charge carries up to 40 years. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 17 at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court.Audible sobbing could be heard from both the Smith and Hayes families after the jury returned from roughly 5? hours of deliberations to give its verdict.A spokesperson for Racquel Smith released a statement after the verdict: Because of the upcoming sentencing hearing, in which Racquel will provide a victim impact statement, she does not feel it is appropriate to comment on the facts of the case at this time. The main focus of Will Smiths family is to see Mr. Hayes justly sentenced for the murder he so callously committed.Hayes family members and friends exited the court without commenting. Defense attorney John Fuller said he would continue to pray for all the families, not just for them going forward, but to pray for their healing at this terrible time -- the Smith family and Cardells family.The Orleans Parish District Attorneys office said it was gratified by the verdict.It was a victory for the Smith family as well as a victory for the citizens of New Orleans, assistant district attorney Christopher Bowman said.District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said in a news release that he would have a news conference Monday.Former Saints running back Deuce McAllister, who was with the Smith family when the verdict was read and for much of the trial, said its not a win for anybody.It was a tough situation the whole time. There was no way either party could really win, said McAllister, who was a close friend of Smiths. I talked to Racquel. ... I dont know if you ever find happiness in losing your husband. How can you ever find happiness in that?Saints coach Sean Payton also was in the courtroom for the verdict, arriving after his teams 16-11 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The Orleans Parish jury dismissed a second-degree murder charge, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence, as well as a charge of attempted second-degree murder. The jury was allowed to consider manslaughter, which indicates the shooter intended to kill but that the crime was committed in a sudden passion sufficient to deprive the average person of self-control or clear reflection.The jury also found Hayes, 29, not guilty of aggravated criminal damage to property, which means it did not find him guilty of intentionally crashing into Smiths car.A pathologist report showed that Smith was legally drunk with a high blood-alcohol level that night, at the end of a day when he had spent time at the citys annual French Quarter Festival, a bar and two restaurants. He, his wife and two passengers were in his Mercedes SUV the night of the shooting.They were heading from New Orleans Lower Garden District toward downtown when a series of events led to the shooting, beginning with Smiths vehicle appearing to lightly bump Hayes Hummer -- although the prosecution raised doubts about whether the two vehicles actually touched, according to court documents.Hayes vehemently denied intentionally running into Smiths SUV moments later. He said he was trying to dial 911 and didnt realize how close he was getting to Smith as he tried to report the apparent hit-and-run. Hayes said he armed himself only after he and his passenger were accosted by Smith and Richard Hernandez, a passenger in the Smiths Mercedes.Hernandez, he said, wildly stripped off his shirt and took something shiny from his pocket. Hayes said he was afraid it was a knife. Smith didnt initially notice the gun, Hayes said.He said Smith, 34, threw a cup containing some type of alcohol at him and punched him repeatedly. At some point during the fast-unfolding melee, Hernandez alerted Smith to Hayes gun, Hayes said under questioning by Fuller.Smith was shot eight times, and Racquel was shot through both legs while she was in proximity to her husband, trying to pull him away from the heated argument, according to multiple witnesses.Prosecutors said evidence showed that Smith never armed himself and that Hayes was not justified in firing.Hayes defense lawyers said Smiths popularity led to a rush judgment by police and prosecutors.I knew for a fact that I was going to get shot, Hayes told the jury after taking the stand in his own defense Saturday. He said he not only saw a gun but also heard what he believes was a gunshot before he began firing.Hayes, however, was the only witness to say Smith armed himself that night. Prosecutors acknowledged that a loaded gun was found in Smiths car but said there was no evidence that it was ever fired or that Smith had grabbed it.Smith was part of a Saints team that lifted the stricken citys spirits in the years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Smith and his teammates helped carry the franchise to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl victory four years later. His death stunned the community, even for a city in which residents are accustomed to reports of multiple gunfire deaths per week.ESPNs Mike Triplett and Mark Schwarz and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Authentic Jordan Shoes For Sale . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Cheap Air Jordan Shoes . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. http://www.cheapairjordan-shoes.com/ . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Air Jordan Shoes For Sale . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Cheap Jordan Shoes For Sale . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hit out at discrimination against the countrys banned track and field athletes at a Kremlin send-off ceremony Wednesday for its depleted Olympic team.Fencers, triathletes and table tennis players became the latest team of Russians to be cleared to compete in the Olympics by the governing bodies of their sports ahead of the Moscow ceremony, but the IAAF rejected a bid by the bulk of the track and field team to be reinstated.More than 100 Russians from the 387-strong Olympic team have been banned so far from going to Rio de Janeiro.We cant accept indiscriminate disqualification of our athletes with an absolutely clean doping history, Putin said. We cannot and will not accept what in fact is pure discrimination.Putin said the athletes banned from the Olympics were victims of a campaign to present Russian sports in a bad light. He spoke with two-time Olympic pole-vaulting champion Yelena Isinbayeva, the most high-profile of the 67 track and field athletes banned from the games, standing beside him.Fighting back tears, Isinbayeva told Rio-bound Russian athletes: Show them what youre able to do -- for yourself and for us too.As the athletes walked across Red Square to meet Putin, some posed for selfies with Vitaly Mutko, whose sports ministry was accused by the World Anti-Doping Agency of orchestrating the doping cover-up. The sports minister has been blocked by the International Olympic Committee from attending the games next month but he remains in Putins government.The IAAF is the only sport to impose a near-blanket ban on Russians, only deeming one -- long jumper Darya Klishina -- eligible for Rio.The situation went beyond the legal field as well as common sense, Putin told the audience, which included many of the banned athletes. Its a well-planned campaign which targeted our athletes, which included double-standards and the concept of collective punishment which has nothing to do with justice or even basic legal norms.Not only have our athletes who never faced any specific accusations been hurt -- this is a blow to the entire global sports and the Olympic Games. Clearly, the absence of Russian athletes who were leaders in some of the sports will affect the competition.There was positive news, however, from Putins ally, Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who is president of the Intternational Fencing Federation.ddddddddddddThe governing body said it would allow the 16 Russian fencers who have qualified for the Rio Games to compete and it approved four reserves. The decision came after the FIE said it had re-examined 197 tests taken from Russian fencers in 35 countries over the last two years which all came back negative.The FIE said the fencers heading to Rio were not implicated in the latest report by WADA investigator Richard McLaren, who found that four positive doping tests in Russian fencing disappeared in recent years.Four positive results in Russian triathlon were also covered up, according to McLaren. The International Triathlon Union said the three men and three women who qualified for Rio are not mentioned in the McLaren report and have not served past doping suspensions.They have all been tested outside of Russia, the ITU said in a statement. Therefore, ITU will recommend to the IOC that these six athletes be permitted to compete in Rio next month.The Table Tennis Federation also announced that the three Russians who qualified for Rio should be allowed to compete because they were not implicated in the McLaren report, which classified one doping case in their sport as a disappearing positive.Russian entries to the Olympics must still be examined and upheld by an expert from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The International Gymnastics Federation said it has established a pool of eligible Russian athletes and is awaiting IOC approval.Individual sports federations were given the task of deciding which athletes should be cleared to compete in Rio by the International Olympic Committee on Sunday. In his native Germany, IOC President Thomas Bach is facing increasing criticism for failing to impose a complete ban on Russias team.Germanys national anti-doping agency chief Andrea Gotzmann said the decision does not follow the IOCs declared zero tolerance policy, saying Bach has missed a huge chance.Olympic discuss champion Robert Harting said he was ashamed of Thomas Bach.---This story has been corrected to show that Isinbayevas first name is Yelena, not Irina.---Harris reported from London. AP Sports Writer Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '