Ohio Parole Board: mercy for death row inmate

(02-06) 22:23 PST Columbus, Ohio (AP) – A death row inmate who killed his mother and whose execution is opposed by his entire family should not be put to death, the Ohio Parole Board ruled Friday in a rare decision opposing capital punishment.

The board voted 8-0 in favor of mercy for Jeffrey Hill, who stabbed his mother to death in 1991 in a crack-cocaine induced rage.

In its ruling, the board recommended that Gov. Ted Strickland commute Hill’s sentence to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years.

Strickland will review the case thoroughly before making a decision, spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said Friday.

The decision was only the third time the board has ruled in favor of clemency for a death row inmate since Ohio resumed executions in 1999 and the first time the panel ruled unanimously for mercy.

Hill is scheduled to be executed March 3 for killing Emma Hill during a robbery that netted $100. Her surviving brothers and sisters oppose Hill’s execution, as did Emma Hill’s mother.

“We’re just sitting around rejoicing,” Eddie Sanders, one of Hill’s uncles, said in a phone interview Friday. “I’ve got to take time out some time and cry about the whole situation. it’s really wonderful.”

Sanders, of Cincinnati, said he prays Strickland follows the board’s recommendation.

The board cited the “compelling and unanimous opinion of victim Emma Hill’s family who favor clemency in this case,” the report said. “They have suffered tremendous loss, and execution would add further to their suffering.”

The board also says Hill has shown genuine remorse for his crime and said the death sentence was not proportionate to punishments for similar crimes where someone killed his mother or father.

“The Board does not consider this offense and offender the ‘worst of the worse’ as in other death penalty cases,” the board said.

The board also said the minimal amount of preparation Hill’s original attorneys did should not be tolerated as acceptable conduct by lawyers when a death sentence is at stake.

Hill’s trial attorneys only hired an expert to talk about Hill’s cocaine addiction the day before his sentencing hearing, according to the State Public Defender’s office.

Messages were left with the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office seeking comment.

Prosecutors have acknowledged that the case was unusual and said they respected the family’s position. But they also said the family’s plea for clemency doesn’t outweigh the state’s requirement to seek justice.

“Emma Hill is entitled to no less protection under law just because she was related to the person who killed her,” Phil Cummings, a Hamilton County assistant prosecutor, told the parole board last week.

The board’s recommendation was the first time the panel recommended an alternative sentence of less than life without the possibility of parole for a condemned killer.

Source: SFgate