The defense lawyer representing an Arkansas prison inmate accused of beating a correctional officer to death at the Miller County jail wants an independent psychological evaluation of his client.
Tramell Mackenzie Hunter, 29, appeared in court Tuesday for the first time in more than a year. After having been found incompetent in 2017 by two mental health experts, Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson ordered Hunter's transfer in 2018 to the Arkansas State Hospital in hopes Hunter's competency could be restored.
Hunter allegedly used his bare hands to beat Correctional Officer Lisa Mauldin, 47, to death Dec. 18, 2016, in the kitchen of the Miller County jail. Hunter is charged with battery of a peace officer for allegedly attacking Correctional Officer Damaris Allen moments after he delivered the fatal blows to Mauldin.
Last month, Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Potter Barrett said she received word from officials at the state hospital that Hunter is now competent and that he has been found responsible at the time of the alleged offense. That finding led to Hunter's transfer from the state hospital to Arkansas Department of Correction to continue serving a 15-year sentence he received in 2011 in Pulaski County for shooting his mother and uncle when they tried to stop him from stealing his mother's car.
At the time of Mauldin's death, Hunter was on loan to the Miller County jail from A.D.C. as part of the Act 309 program which allows for the placement of prison inmates in county jails, for example, where they provide cheap labor and enjoy a less restrictive environment. As a 309 inmate in Miller County, Hunter was allowed to leave the jail campus and perform work in the community.
Repeated findings of incompetency for Hunter in 2017, 2018 and earlier this year were rooted in mental illness. Davis expressed concern Tuesday that since Hunter's return to prison, he has already observed a deterioration in his appearance and demeanor and worried that without continued treatment at the state hospital, Hunter's competency may be short lived. Davis noted that in addition to medication, Hunter was receiving other therapies which are unavailable in prison.
Davis argued that Hunter should not have been transferred from the state hospital without a hearing and approval from the court. Thus far the only information received from the state hospital came in the form of a phone call to Barrett and a brief letter dated July 1 from hospital personnel stating he has been found fit to proceed. Davis pointed out that the letter does not address whether Hunter has been found responsible at the time of the offense as Barrett said she was informed last month.
Barrett said she was told by hospital staff that a full report detailing the findings should be received within five weeks of when she received the call in late June. Davis lamented the delay in receiving the full report and asked Johnson to enter a finding in the record that Hunter is indigent so he can request funds from the Arkansas Public Defender Commission for an independent mental assessment of Hunter.
Davis added that he was retained to represent Hunter by Hunter's mother and said that Hunter, who has been behind bars since 2011, has no money or assets. Johnson agreed.
Davis asked Johnson to order Hunter's immediate return to the state hospital for continued treatment but Johnson declined with a caveat.
"When I see the full report I'll make a determination as to whether he returns to the state hospital or remains in A.D.C.," Johnson said.
At the end of the hearing, two Arkansas Department of Correction officers escorted Hunter from the courtroom at the Miller County correctional complex.
Barrett announced at Hunter's arraignment in 2017 that her office will seek the death penalty for Hunter in Mauldin's death. The only other punishment available for capital murder in Arkansas is life without parole.
Johnson scheduled the case for a pretrial hearing in August.