The Case of Warren Hill

The U.S. Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) banned the exe­cu­tion of indi­vid­u­als with intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ties (men­tal retar­da­tion), but allowed each state to set guide­lines for deter­min­ing whether an inmate has such a con­di­tion. In Georgia, cap­i­tal defen­dants are required to prove ​“men­tal retar­da­tion” beyond a rea­son­able doubt. It is the only state in the coun­try that sets such a high bur­den of proof for such claims. Warren Hill had a strong claim of intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty. A state judge found that Hill was intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled, but under a low­er legal thresh­hold than is required in the statute. In 2003, the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the judge’s rul­ing in a 4 – 3 vote, hold­ing that Hill’s lawyers had failed to clear the thresh­old of ​“beyond a rea­son­able doubt.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the Georgia Supreme Court. Writing for the major­i­ty, Judge Frank Hull said fed­er­al law ​“man­dates that this fed­er­al court leave the Georgia Supreme Court deci­sion alone — even if we believe it incor­rect or unwise.”

(July 9, 2013). Laurel Bellows, President of the American Bar Association, called for a halt to Warren Hill’s exe­cu­tion in Georgia:

[T]he ABA strong­ly urges that Hill’s exe­cu­tion be stayed until his pend­ing Supreme Court peti­tion can be con­sid­ered and decid­ed on the mer­its. A stay of exe­cu­tion is not only appro­pri­ate in these com­pelling cir­cum­stances — it is what jus­tice demands in order to pre­vent an unconscionable result.

(July 8, 2013). Read DPIC’s Press Release about the upcom­ing exe­cu­tion of Warren Hill in Georgia. Hill’s attor­neys have filed motions for a stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and in the U.S. Supreme Court. UPDATE: (July 18, 2013). A Georgia judge has ruled that the state’s new law shield­ing the source of lethal injec­tion drugs uncon­sti­tu­tion­al­ly inter­feres with Hill’s right to chal­lenge the method of exe­cu­tion. Hill’s stay of exe­cu­tion is extend­ed, though the state has appealed this rul­ing. Read the Judge’s Order. For addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion on Warren Hill and Georgia’s secre­tive lethal injec­tion pro­ce­dure, see A. Cohen, ​“The Warren Hill Execution: A Late Challenge Over Lethal-Injection Drug,” The Atlantic, July 15, 2013).

Listen to NPR’s ​“All Things Considered” for a dis­cus­sion of the issues, with DPIC’s Executive Director.

Doctors Who Evaluated Death Row Prisoner for Georgia Now Say that Warren Hill has Mental Retardation. See Press Release.

Read Last Chance for Warren Lee Hill by Lincoln Caplan, N.Y. Times, Feb. 19, 2013.

Executive Director of National Organization on Intellectual Disabilities Calls for Halt to Georgia Execution

Read state­ment by Margaret Nygren, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, July 23, 2012.

GEORGIA JUDGE AGAIN FINDS WARREN HILL TO HAVE MENTAL RETARDATION BY A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE

On July 19, 2012, a Superior Court judge in Georgia stat­ed: ​“The Court finds that this Court’s pre­vi­ous find­ing… that Mr. Hill has an I.Q. of 70 beyond a rea­son­able doubt and meets the over­all cri­te­ria for men­tal retar­da­tion by a pre­pon­der­ance of the evi­dence is jus­ti­fied by the evi­dence in this case.” Nevertheless, the judge denied Hill’s motion for a stay of exe­cu­tion and for relief from his death sen­tence because his men­tal retar­da­tion had not been proven beyond a rea­son­able doubt. (Hill v. Humphrey, No.12-V-658, Butts Cty., July 19, 2012). Warren Hill is sched­uled to be exe­cut­ed on July 23. The court’s order is under appeal. Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are among those request­ing a com­mu­ta­tion to life in prison.

GEORGIA EXECUTES WARREN HILL

UPDATE: (1/​27/​15) Hill was exe­cut­ed after the Supreme Court denied a stay and the state denied clemency.

The U.S. Delegation of the European Union wrote to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles request­ing clemen­cy for Warren Hill. Hill’s attor­neys filed a peti­tion with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the exe­cu­tion. President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter called for a com­mu­ta­tion of Mr. Hill’s death sen­tence to life with­out parole. Additionally, the American Bar Association, the Georgia NAACP state chap­ter, the ACLU, and the Council of Europe have all called for the exe­cu­tion to be stayed. See also Prof. John Blume’s (Cornell Law) op-ed in the National Journal (Jan. 22, 2015).

For more infor­ma­tion on Warren’s Hill’s case. View DPIC’s What’s New fea­tures about the case here.