A Jefferson Parish jury has convicted 18-year-old Cashmere Butler of manslaughter in the April shooting death of Samuel Tague outside a Marrero apartment, finding him guilty of a lesser charge after he admitted pulling the trigger but insisted he was protecting himself and others during a chaotic confrontation. Jurors deliberated for just two hours before reaching their decision.
According to WDSU, the jury found Butler guilty of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter rather than the murder charge he originally faced. Butler admitted shooting Tague, but told jurors he acted in self-defense and in defense of others amid a tense discussion that had erupted between Tague and Tague's ex-girlfriend. He now faces up to 40 years in prison for the killing, the outlet reported.
A Confrontation That Turned Deadly
The shooting happened on the evening of April 15 in the 5000 block of Fourth Street in Marrero, according to nola.com. Witness testimony cited in the case states that Tague had gone to his ex-girlfriend's apartment looking for her and punched the front door before the confrontation escalated. Butler had come to the apartment with Tague's ex-girlfriend and another woman to assess the damage from that incident, per the same reporting.
During the struggle that followed, Butler pushed and held Tague against a wall with his left forearm and pressed his gun into Tague's abdomen before firing once, per the station's report. Tague was rushed to University Medical Center but died less than an hour later. The nola.com account notes that Butler shot Tague once in the abdomen, and Tague did not survive his injuries.
Conflicting Accounts of the Original Charges
Exactly what Butler was initially booked with has been reported differently across coverage of the case. One nola.com report states that Butler, of Harvey, was arrested on April 16 and booked with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. A separate nola.com article instead says Butler, 18, of Harvey, was charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. WDSU's reporting on the conviction similarly describes Butler as having been arrested for second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
The reporting is similarly inconsistent on the question of bail. One account says Butler was held without bail on the murder charge, with bail on the obstruction charge set separately. Another report states that Butler was held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center with bail set at $750,000. Neither figure has been independently reconciled in available reporting.
What Louisiana Law Says About Manslaughter and Self-Defense
Under Louisiana law, a person convicted of manslaughter may be imprisoned at hard labor for not more than 40 years, according to the Louisiana State Legislature. That statute sets the ceiling prosecutors and defense attorneys were working within once jurors opted for the lesser charge instead of murder.
Butler's defense centered on claims of self-defense and defense of others, concepts with specific definitions under state law. The Louisiana State Legislature's statute on justifiable homicide provides that a killing is justified when a person reasonably believes they face imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that killing is necessary to avert that danger. A separate statute on defense of others allows for force, violence, or killing to be justified when it is reasonably apparent that the person being defended could have justifiably used those same means.
The jury's two-hour deliberation ultimately landed on manslaughter rather than acquittal or a murder conviction, a middle outcome that reflects how closely those self-defense standards were weighed against the fatal outcome of the confrontation on Fourth Street.
