The Arkansas Court of Appeals reversed the guilty verdict and ordered a new trial in the case of Erskine Flamer Jr., who had been convicted of the second degree murder of Deunte Stanley and tampering with physical evidence. An Ashley County Circuit Court jury set the penalty at 50 years in prison and a $2,500 fine for the murder as well as three years in prison and a $500 fine for tampering with evidence.
The charges came after a dispute in Pine Street Park in Hamburg on July 21, 2019. The court opinion notes that Flamer and Deunte Stanley were involved in an altercation in the park. Flamerâs girlfriend and his sonâs mother, Laporsha Franklin, was present and testified that Stanley approached Flamer and started shoving and threatening him. Witnesses said after a pushing conflict Flamer âpokedâ Stanley, and that Stanley collapsed. Stanley died from a stab wound while being carried to the Ashley County Medical Center.