Bio

Stephen Lynn Hugueley was born on January 2, 1968. Hugueley’s first known murder conviction came when he was still a teenager. In 1986, he was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his mother, Rachel Waller, in Dyer County, Tennessee. Later reports stated that Waller was shot with a shotgun and that her body was dumped into the Forked Deer River. Hugueley received a life sentence in August 1986 for that murder.

After entering the Tennessee prison system, Hugueley committed another homicide. In 1991, while incarcerated at West Tennessee High Security Prison near Henning, he killed another inmate. Later federal court records identify that inmate as James Shelton. Hugueley was convicted of first-degree murder again in 1992 and received another life sentence.

Hugueley’s violence in prison continued after the second murder. In 1998, he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder after stabbing another inmate, identified in federal records as Timerall Nelson. This prior attempted-murder conviction later became one of the aggravating factors used by prosecutors when Hugueley was tried for the murder of Delbert Steed.

By January 2002, Hugueley was housed at Hardeman County Correctional Facility. He was already serving prison terms for two murders and one attempted murder. His later capital trial showed that he had conflicts with correctional counselor Delbert Steed and that he believed Steed had disrespected him. The Tennessee Supreme Court later noted that Hugueley admitted the killing was intentional and premeditated.

Murder Story

On January 17, 2002, Stephen Lynn Hugueley was an inmate at Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Correctional counselor Delbert Steed entered F pod that day to counsel inmates. While Steed was sitting at a table, Hugueley approached him from behind and began stabbing him with a homemade weapon. The attack happened inside the prison while Steed was performing his duties as a correctional employee.

The weapon was later described as a sharpened quarter-inch metal rod. It had been sharpened to a very fine point and measured about eleven inches long. The handle was made from a Magic Marker pen. Hugueley continued stabbing Steed until the handle broke off, leaving part of the weapon embedded in Steed’s back.

Correctional staff responded after seeing the attack. One officer opened the pod door and ordered Hugueley to stop. Hugueley moved toward the officer with the knife drawn back, causing the officer to shut the door. Hugueley then returned to Steed and continued the attack. Another officer later entered and ordered him to drop the weapon. After the handle broke, Hugueley lay on the floor and allowed officers to restrain him.

An internal affairs investigator interviewed Hugueley after the killing. Hugueley admitted that he disliked Steed and said he had started thinking about killing him earlier that week. He stated that he intended to strike Steed’s vital organs, including the heart and lungs. In a later letter to the district attorney, he admitted that he had acted with premeditation and wrote that he had no remorse for the killing.

The autopsy showed that Delbert Steed had been stabbed 36 times. The wounds included injuries to the chest, back, abdomen, and arm. The medical examiner testified that twelve of the wounds were independently lethal. The Tennessee Supreme Court later noted that the jury found the murder especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel because it involved serious physical abuse beyond what was necessary to cause death.

At trial, Hugueley testified in his own defense but admitted killing Steed. He stated that Steed had disrespected him and said that he would not have stopped stabbing him if the weapon had not broken. He also admitted that the killing was intentional and premeditated.

The jury found Hugueley guilty of first-degree premeditated murder on September 16, 2003. The penalty phase began the same day. Prosecutors presented his prior convictions, including the 1986 first-degree murder conviction for killing his mother, the 1992 first-degree murder conviction for killing inmate James Shelton, and the 1998 attempted first-degree murder conviction for stabbing inmate Timerall Nelson. Hugueley waived the presentation of mitigation evidence.

The jury sentenced Hugueley to death. The aggravating factors included his prior violent felony convictions, the especially cruel nature of the murder, the fact that the murder happened while he was in lawful confinement, and the fact that the victim was a corrections employee performing official duties. The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence on March 15, 2006.

Hugueley continued through post-conviction and federal habeas litigation. In 2020, the Sixth Circuit rejected his habeas appeal. The State of Tennessee later filed a motion on July 13, 2021, asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to set an execution date because Hugueley had completed the standard appeals process.

Three days later, on July 16, 2021, Hugueley died at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The Tennessee Department of Correction announced that he had passed away from apparent natural causes at age 53. On July 22, 2021, the Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed the pending execution-date proceedings as moot after counsel filed a suggestion of death stating that Hugueley had died of natural causes.