Arkansas Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Jerry Walker’s Habeas Petition

The Supreme Court of Arkansas on Sept. 25, 2025, affirmed the Chicot County Circuit Court’s denial and dismissal of a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Jerry W. Walker, who was convicted in 2003 of first-degree murder and unlawful discharge of a firearm and sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison. Associate Justice Cody Hiland wrote the opinion affirming the lower court’s ruling.

The court’s opinion explains that Walker’s claims fall into two categories: (1) that the trial court should have given a jury instruction on manslaughter as a lesser-included offense tied to “extreme emotional disturbance,” and (2) that under current law Walker would qualify for self-defense because the statute was amended in 2021 to remove the duty to retreat. The court held that claims of trial error — including disputed jury instructions — are not cognizable in habeas proceedings and must be raised at trial or on direct appeal. The opinion also stated that changes to the self-defense statute enacted by Act 250 of 2021 do not make Walker’s 2002 conduct lawful because the law in effect at the time of the offense controls.

Walker was convicted by a Pulaski County jury in 2003 of first-degree murder, with an enhanced habitual-offender sentence of 60 years, plus 20 years for unlawful discharge of a firearm, for an aggregate 80-year term. The court cited Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101 and related habeas statutes to explain the narrow scope of habeas review: a petitioner who does not claim actual innocence must show the judgment is invalid on its face or that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. The opinion relied on prior Arkansas decisions, including Hunt v. Payne (2024 Ark. 126) and White v. Payne (2023 Ark. 171), to reiterate that habeas proceedings are not a vehicle to relitigate trial errors.

On Walker’s statutory argument, the court noted that Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-2-607(b) in effect when Walker committed the crime required retreat before using deadly force (see Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-607(b)(1)(A) (Repl. 1997) and Kemp v. State, 348 Ark. 750). Act 250 of 2021 amended § 5-2-607(b) to remove that duty to retreat and became effective in July 2021 (codified as Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-607(b)(2) (Supp. 2021)). The court explained that the law in effect at the time of the offense governs the legality of the sentence and that Walker’s record did not establish the factual predicate required under the law then governing self-defense; the court of appeals previously found Walker offered no evidence he attempted to retreat. The opinion therefore concluded Walker’s judgment is not illegal on its face and affirmed the dismissal of the habeas petition.

Associate Justice Hiland wrote, quoting precedent, that “the ‘writ [of habeas corpus] will not be issued to correct errors or irregularities that occurred at trial.’” Special Justice Cody Kees joined the opinion; Justice Bronni did not participate. The Attorney General’s office, represented in the filing by Assistant Attorney General Jacob Jones, defended the Director of the Arkansas Division of Correction, Dexter Payne, the appellee in the appeal.

Background references in the opinion include Walker v. State, 91 Ark. App. 300, 210 S.W.3d 157 (2005), which affirmed Walker’s convictions on direct appeal. The Chicot County Circuit Court judge who denied the habeas petition was the Hon. Quincy M. Ross.

The decision leaves Walker’s convictions and aggregate 80-year sentence intact and reiterates the limits of habeas corpus review: absent a facially invalid commitment order or lack of jurisdiction, habeas relief is unavailable to remedy claimed trial errors or to apply later statutory changes retroactively.