TEXARKANA -- An Arkansas prison inmate accused of beating a female guard to death at the Miller County jail in December has pleaded innocent by reason of mental disease or defect.
Tramell Mackenzie Hunter, 27, appeared before Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson for arraignment Tuesday morning at the Miller County jail complex flanked by Arkansas Department of Correction employees. Attorney Ronald Davis entered the innocent plea on Hunter's behalf and asked Johnson to order a mental evaluation for Hunter.
Johnson agreed and scheduled the case for a status hearing April 11.
Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black said last month that her office will seek the death penalty for Hunter. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Black said prosecutors may file an amended charging document to specifically identify the state's intent to take Hunter's life if he's convicted.
Hunter is accused of attacking and fatally beating guard Lisa Mauldin, 47, on Dec. 18 after a brief verbal exchange in the jail's kitchen.
After attacking Mauldin, Hunter was met by Damaris Allen, 35, as he tried to leave the kitchen, according to an affidavit. Hunter struck Allen in the face and knocked her to the floor, and then struck Allen with her portable radio and with his fist several more times before running out of the kitchen, the affidavit said. Hunter was apprehended in the hallway by jail officers.
Hunter was serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery and two counts of felony domestic battery as part of a 2011 plea bargain in Pulaski County, court records show. Hunter's convictions stem from a Jan. 27, 2010, confrontation at a relative's home in Little Rock, the records said.
Hunter shot his uncle when the man tried to stop him from stealing his mother's car and then fired a second shot, striking his mother, before driving away in her rented Dodge Charger, according to court records. Hunter's mother and uncle survived but required surgeries.
Hunter told investigators that he had intended to kill himself when his funds were exhausted. He surrendered Feb. 10, 2010, to police in Galveston, Texas, after running out of money and finding himself unable to commit suicide, records state.
A pearl-handled revolver with a defaced serial number Hunter claimed to have used during the shooting of his mother and uncle was recovered from the stolen car.
Hunter's history of violent behavior did not prevent him from being assigned to Miller County as an Act 309 work inmate. The 309 program is meant to relieve prison overcrowding, reduce incarceration costs and assist law enforcement with manpower, according to a Correction Department administrative directive on the Act 309 program. The city or county jail is reimbursed by the state for the cost of housing a 309 inmate.
Inmates assigned to jails as part of the Act 309 program are typically given more freedom to move about and work than other jail inmates and are generally considered low risk. Such inmates are permitted to work outside the jail and in the community under the supervision of jail officials.
If convicted of capital murder of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, Hunter faces execution by lethal injection or life without the possibility of parole. If convicted of battery of a law enforcement officer for the serious injuries Allen suffered, he faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison.
State Desk on 03/15/2017