State v. Hunter — Procedural History, 2004 to 2026

By Mrs. Eileen Hunter — about the author. Posted August 8, 2026. Last updated August 9, 2026.

Trial court

DateEvent
2002-10-17Bill of Indictment — three counts second-degree murder, attempted armed robbery
2004-02-17Trial begins, 4th Judicial District Court, Parish of Ouachita, Judge C. Wendell Manning
2004-02-25State files Motion in Limine to bar defense questioning of Detective Harris about the investigation and about marijuana sold at 221 Greenwood
2004-03-04Verdict — guilty on three counts of second-degree murder and the responsive verdict of attempted armed robbery
Motion for New Trial and Motion for Post-Verdict Judgment of Acquittal denied
2004-05-25Sentencing — three life sentences without parole plus 49½ years, all four counts consecutive

Direct appeal

DateEvent
2005-06-29Conviction and sentence AFFIRMED. State v. Hunter, 39,664, p. 5 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/29/05); 907 So. 2d 200, 204
2006-03-10Louisiana Supreme Court — writ denied. 2005-2027 (La. 3/10/06); 925 So. 2d 507

The Second Circuit addressed five assignments of error: sufficiency of the evidence; the use of the nickname “Trigger” at trial; exclusion of the offer to take a polygraph; consecutive sentencing on facts not found by the jury; and jury instructions on accessory-after-the-fact liability. It held the informants’ accounts constituted direct evidence and that the jury had heard, “in great detail, the prior convictions and sentences of the inmate witnesses and, likewise… the possibility for favorable treatment the inmates might receive by testifying.”

First application for post-conviction relief

DateEvent
2007-02-14Application signed and notarised (pro se)
2007-02-21Date-stamped received by the Clerk of Court
2007-02-22Filed — six claims, with affidavits from Rodney Gay, Solomon Moore and James Divers supporting a request for an investigator
2007-05-31Denied without a hearing

Second application — Brady / Kyles claim

DateEvent
2008-03-12The handwritten investigator’s note dated February 20, 2004 is disclosed in the District Attorney’s file
2009-03-16Application based on newly discovered Brady/Kyles material
2009-07-14Denied without an evidentiary hearing
A federal habeas petition was later dismissed as time-barred, leaving this Brady claim without review on the merits by any federal court

Third application — new evidence of innocence

DateEvent
2012-01-31Affidavit of Glen Dale Nelson
2013-01-28Application — new evidence demonstrating innocence
2013-05-29Denied without an evidentiary hearing

Fourth application — La. C.Cr.P. art. 926.2 (factual innocence)

DateEvent
2022-09-08Subpoena Duces Tecum sought — architect’s Pod 10 window specifications
2022-10-26Denied — no art. 926.2 application had been filed, and the information was “discoverable at the time of trial”
late December 2022Application under art. 926.2 — first-time factual innocence claim, relying on Professor Bloom’s declaration, Jody Rucks’s affidavit, Stephanie Stokes’s alibi affidavit, and the Campbell and Davis window affidavits
2023-01-11Unopposed Motion to Stay 90 days, to resubmit the window-specifications subpoena
2023-01-23Telephone conference — the court declines the stay
2023-02-01Denied without an evidentiary hearing and without the State’s response
2023-06-01Second Circuit — denied
2023-11-21Louisiana Supreme Court — denied

Filing date: counsel’s filings give December 30, 2022; the district court’s ruling recites January 3, 2023.

Fifth application — Brady / Giglio / Napue (pending)

DateEvent
2026-02-27Counsel interviews Glen Dale Nelson; transcript filed as an exhibit
2026-03-26Application for post-conviction relief, 4th JDC
2026-04-20Motion to Supplement — the witness’s rap sheet, sentencing transcripts and court minutes
2026-04-29Ruling signed — DENIED, for failure to comply with La. C.Cr.P. art. 926 and as duplicative of prior claims
2026-05-04Ruling filed, 10:12 a.m.; Notice of Filing issued
2026-06-03Notice of Intent to File Supervisory Writ
2026-06-05Motion to Reconsider filed
2026-06-09Motion to Reconsider DENIED — handwritten across the proposed order that would have set an evidentiary hearing. Same order grants a 30-day return date
2026-07-09Application for Supervisory Writ filed, Louisiana Second Circuit — pending

The pending writ raises five assignments of error and asks the Second Circuit to reverse and remand for the evidentiary hearing La. C.Cr.P. art. 930 requires. Standard of review: abuse of discretion. State v. Henry, 307 So. 3d 249, 257 (La. App. 4 Cir. 10/29/20).

Related

The case · The jailhouse informants · Withheld evidence · Press kit