TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) – A judge says an outside expert will evaluate the mental state of an Arkansas inmate charged in the killing of a correctional officer.
Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson said Tuesday the expert will evaluate Tramell Hunter to determine whether Hunter can stand trial on capital murder charges for the 2016 death of Lisa Mauldin at the Miller County jail.
The Texarkana Gazette reports an evaluation done by staff at the Arkansas State Hospital suggested Hunter was faking symptoms of mental illness to avoid prosecution. In 2017, another evaluation found that Hunter was unable to assist his attorney.
Hunter had been assigned to the Miller County jail as part an Arkansas
Department of Correction program that allows some inmates to serve their
sentences in county jails in need of labor.
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