Lee Lucas, the Baton Rouge man serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of Eric Howard, is waiting on a court commissioner’s decision — expected in early 2026 — on whether he will get an evidentiary hearing on his claim that a prosecutor forged the grand jury indictment used to convict him. The Lee Lucas Baton Rouge case is now in its fifth round of post-conviction review, with Commissioner Kina Kimble weighing whether the allegations warrant a full hearing before Judge Carson Mercantel.1WBRZ. Commissioner Considering if Convicted Murderer Should Get Hearing That Could Free Him
Where the Case Stands Now
On December 3, 2025, Commissioner Kimble held a status conference at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse in Baton Rouge. Lucas attended alongside his attorney, Meghan Matt, and argued portions of the case himself using case law. Prosecutors did not engage the forgery allegations on the merits, instead framing the petition as an “11th hour attempt” to unwind a jury verdict.2WAFB. Convicted Murderer Wants Secondary Review of His Case
Kimble took the matter under advisement and said she would decide by early 2026 whether to grant an evidentiary hearing. Any recommendation she issues would go to Judge Mercantel, who has final authority over whether the case moves forward.1WBRZ. Commissioner Considering if Convicted Murderer Should Get Hearing That Could Free Him
What the Forgery Petition Alleges
The petition does not argue that Lucas is innocent of the shooting. It argues that he was never lawfully indicted for the murder, so the trial should never have happened. Matt calls the indictment “fatally deficient.”3WBRZ. Three Years Later, Some Movement in Lee Lucas Post-Conviction Relief Petition
Two claims sit at the core. First, the defense says the grand jury foreperson’s signature on the murder indictment is not the foreperson’s at all. According to Matt, three handwriting experts compared the signature to known samples and concluded it matches the handwriting of then-Assistant District Attorney Aaron Brooks. Matt has also said her team spoke with people who served on that grand jury and who “have no recollection of anyone by that name” serving as foreperson.4WAFB. Dozens Demand Second Review of Convicted Murderer’s Case
Second, the defense points to a handwritten document it says shows Lucas was originally indicted only for felony possession of a firearm, with the second-degree murder charge added later.3WBRZ. Three Years Later, Some Movement in Lee Lucas Post-Conviction Relief Petition
Lucas drafted his first version of this application himself around 2022. The petition now before Kimble is his fifth attempt at post-conviction relief. In June 2025, dozens of supporters rallied outside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse in the rain to demand a hearing.4WAFB. Dozens Demand Second Review of Convicted Murderer’s Case
How the District Attorney Has Responded
District Attorney Hillar Moore, who did not hold the office when Lucas was prosecuted, has rejected the allegations. He called the forgery claim “completely bogus, completely made up” and said the document is “absolutely a valid indictment.”1WBRZ. Commissioner Considering if Convicted Murderer Should Get Hearing That Could Free Him
Moore said the defense is “not looking at the right evidence” and is “interpreting a lot of it incorrectly.” On the missing-foreperson claim, he pointed to the DA’s office explanation that an acting grand jury foreman was appointed because the original foreman was unavailable for that particular appearance. He added that if there truly were a problem with the indictment, he would be “the first one calling for it to be reviewed.”2WAFB. Convicted Murderer Wants Secondary Review of His Case Moore has said that if the court orders an evidentiary hearing, the state will pursue all available legal remedies to challenge it.1WBRZ. Commissioner Considering if Convicted Murderer Should Get Hearing That Could Free Him
The Underlying Conviction
Eric Howard was shot in the chest outside the Howard Johnson hotel in Baton Rouge at roughly 2:00 a.m. on December 26, 1996, as he was getting into his black Lexus. From the emergency room, in critical condition, Howard identified Lee J. Lucas as the shooter and said Lucas drove a green Lexus. Witness Tatonia Haynes also identified Lucas. Howard survived nearly three weeks before dying on January 15, 1997, of sepsis and pneumonia caused by the gunshot wound.5FindLaw. State v. Lucas
Lucas was arrested in Chicago the day after Howard’s death, traveling under an alias.6vLex. State v. Lucas At trial, the state relied on Howard’s dying declaration, Haynes’s identification, and ballistics evidence linking the bullet to a Glock pistol Lucas had previously been tied to. A jury convicted him of second-degree murder by an 11-1 vote, and he was sentenced to life at hard labor without probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.5FindLaw. State v. Lucas He has exhausted his standard appeals.3WBRZ. Three Years Later, Some Movement in Lee Lucas Post-Conviction Relief Petition
The 11-1 Verdict and Louisiana’s Split-Jury Rule
Lucas’s conviction was non-unanimous, a form of verdict Louisiana permitted at the time. In Ramos v. Louisiana (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity for serious criminal offenses. In Edwards v. Vannoy (2021), it held that Ramos does not apply retroactively on federal habeas review to convictions already final.7SCOTUSblog. Justices Divided on Retroactive Application of Jury Unanimity Rule
The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to apply Ramos retroactively under state law, limiting it to verdicts delivered after 2018. Louisiana legislators are weighing bills that would open a review path. Senate Bill 218, introduced by Senator Royce Duplessis, would let people convicted by split juries petition for case review; it cleared a Senate judiciary committee in April 2025. A separate House bill would allow resentencing hearings. The Louisiana District Attorneys Association has said it would be “impossible to retry all of these cases” — estimated at 1,215 — and favors a review-committee approach.8Louisiana Illuminator. Non-Unanimous Jury
Lucas’s current petition does not rest on the split-verdict issue. It is worth understanding as a separate track: even if the forgery petition fails, his 11-1 verdict places him within the population that could be reached by any retroactive relief the legislature enacts.
What Happens Next
Commissioner Kimble’s decision on whether to grant an evidentiary hearing is expected in early 2026. If she recommends a hearing, Judge Mercantel will decide whether it goes forward, and the state has signaled it will fight that step. If a hearing is held, the forgery claims — the handwriting analysis, the grand jurors’ recollections, and the handwritten charging document — would be tested on the record for the first time. If Kimble declines, the petition ends there absent further review.