BENTONVILLE -- A new sentencing hearing has been ordered for convicted murderer Brandon Lacy.
Lacy, 35, of Rogers was sentenced to death after he was found guilty of capital murder and aggravated robbery for killing Randall Walker, 47, of Garfield in 2007.
Judge Robin Green presided over a hearing in September that concerned Lacy's claims that he had ineffective assistance of counsel during his jury trial in 2009.
Green released a written ruling this week that ordered a new sentencing hearing for Lacy.
Steve Harper, lead counsel in Lacy 's case, was critical of his performance at Lacy's trial. Harper rated his performance as a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 when he testified in September. Harper also testified he is opposed to the death penalty and wanted to see Lacy get a new trial.
Green's order mentions Harper's relationship with Lacy. Harper told the jury during sentencing that Lacy "had become like not a son to me, more like a grandson."
Harper also asked the panel not to kill his friend or order his death, according to court documents.
According to Green's written ruling, Harper's opposition to the death penalty and his closeness to Lacy caused her to question whether Harper could be objective during the sentencing phase.
Other testimony in September was about whether Lacy suffers from brain damage and whether that information should have been presented to the jury.
According to Green's ruling, she believes the defense consulted multiple experts as the case progressed and the defense's mitigation specialist prepared extensively for trial.
Green concluded that given the heightened standard of review afforded capital cases, she had no choice but order a new sentencing hearing for Lacy because of Harper's testimony and actions.
"It is unfortunate that the work of a Benton County jury has been undone by the testimony of one of the defendant's attorneys, Steve Harper," said Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney-elect.
A date has not been set for the sentencing hearing.
Little Rock attorney Patrick Benca, who now represents Lacy, could not be reached for comment.
Broderick Laswell, 26, of Farmington also was convicted of capital murder and aggravated robbery in the case. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Lacy is being held at Varner Supermax in Gould.
Metro on 12/27/2014