The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned Warren Terrell Hardy’s capital murder conviction, citing jury instruction errors.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A man who was on death row for the 2016 killing of NASA retiree Kathleen Lundy will get a new trial, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Friday. Warren Terrell Hardy’s capital murder conviction and death sentence were overturned.
The court said jury instructions during Hardy’s trial allowed jurors to consider a robbery victim he was not charged with, Kathleen Lundy’s husband Rusty Lundy. The error could have confused jurors and denied Hardy proper notice of the charges against him.
Hardy’s other convictions were upheld, including two counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of domestic violence, and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. He remains sentenced for those crimes.
Hardy’s case stems from a 2016 crime spree in Huntsville. During the incident, he allegedly demanded the keys to the Lundys’ vehicle before fatally shooting Kathleen Lundy and threatened or kidnapped multiple family members.
The new trial will take place in Madison County Circuit Court, though no date has been set.
The capital murder charge will be retried while Hardy’s other convictions remain in effect.