Warren Lee Hill

Warren Lee Hill (born 1960 - January 27, 2015 in Jackson , Georgia ) was an American citizen who was sentenced to death for murder . He was executed in the state of Georgia, although a potential intellectual disability made it doubtful whether the execution was compatible with federal law .

Act, trial and imprisonment

Warren Lee Hill was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his then 18-year-old girlfriend . On August 18, 1990, he slew fellow inmate Joseph Handspike in prison. The jury then imposed the death penalty . However, at this point in time, they could not opt ​​for a life sentence without parole, as this legal option was only created later. The New York Times noted that not only had multiple jurors preferred life sentences, but the victim's family had spoken out against Hill's execution. Hill was on death row for more than 21 years .

There were serious doubts about the condemned's mental abilities. His attorneys alleged in the last pardon that Hill was mentally retarded and had an IQ of 70. An IQ below 70 is considered an intellectual disability. Defense attorney Brian Kammer said various family members who grew up with Hill had noticed something was wrong with him and that he had some kind of disability.

The Supreme Court of the United States had in the case v Atkins. Virginia banned the death penalty for the mentally disabled, but left the criteria for assessing disability to the individual states. In Georgia, proof of intellectual disability is required “ beyond a reasonable doubt” .

In July 2012, the legal process was exhausted after even the appeal committee of the State of Georgia in Atlanta, the clemency petition was rejected. The Washington Supreme Court had not even accepted the case for consideration.

On June 13, 2013, a group of six scholars, in collaboration with the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court requesting new or revised statements in the Warren Lee case Hill and Hill's level of intellectual development. The background to the application was that three experts who had previously agreed with Hill had an intellectual disability, had meanwhile moved away from their point of view that previous assessments were incorrect and that a disability did exist. This was sworn under oath by all the experts concerned. As a result of this development, Warren Lee Hill was found to be mentally retarded by all the experts who examined him.

Human right

The human rights organization Amnesty International put the Warren Hill case on its Urgent Action List . The New York Times published an editorial on the case.

Hill's attorney, Brian Kammer, said after his execution, "Today the court without conscience allowed a grotesque miscarriage of justice to take place in Georgia."

Execution dates

The originally planned execution on July 23, 2012 has been postponed. After that, February 19, 2013 at 7 p.m. local time was set as the new date. Only 30 minutes before this appointment (Hill had already taken a sedative at this point , Ativan with the active ingredient Lorazepam ) the execution was postponed again: The US Federal Court of Appeals for the 11th District demanded clarity on the question of Warren Lee Hill's mental state, while the Georgia State Court of Appeals intervened because there was also uncertainty as to the method of execution with the active ingredient pentobarbital . The execution finally took place on January 27, 2015.

See also

• Yokamon Hearn , executed in July 2012 in Huntsville, Texas , who was also suspected of having an intellectual disability.
• Marvin Wilson , man executed in Huntsville, Texas in August 2012 who was also suspected of having an intellectual disability.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georgia halts Monday execution of Warren Lee Hill ( Memento from January 16, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
2. ↑ ^{a b} A Plea for Mercy for Man on Georgia's Death Row. New York Times, July 6, 2012, accessed August 11, 2012 . 
3. ↑ Christina Bergmann: USA: Execution despite intellectual disabilities. In: Deutsche Welle. July 18, 2012, accessed February 18, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Jane Hansen: COURT DENIES REVIEW OF MENTAL RETARDATION CLAIM. (PDF; 107 kB) Supreme Court of Georgia, July 23, 2012, archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; accessed on August 11, 2012 . 
5. ↑ Mental Disability Experts File Brief at SCOTUS in Support of GA Death Row Prisoner Warren Hill - Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, June 14, 2013 (English)
6. ↑ Disability Experts File Brief Supporting Warren Lee Hill ( Memento from July 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) , on politic365.com, from June 25, 2013 (English)
7. ↑ AP / cast: Lethal injection: Mentally retarded murderer executed in Georgia. In: welt.de . January 28, 2015, accessed October 7, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Controversial Execution in the US: No Mercy for the Disabled. In: the daily newspaper . February 18, 2013, accessed February 20, 2013 . 
9. ↑ Warren Lee Hill execution scheduled for tonight ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
10. ^ Court issues temporary stay of execution for Georgia inmate Warren Lee Hill. In: Foxnews.com. February 19, 2013, accessed February 20, 2013 . 
11. ↑ Courts block execution of mentally handicapped person. In: FAZ.net. February 20, 2013, accessed February 20, 2013 . 
12. ↑ Georgia inmate Warren Hill granted stay of execution 30 minutes before lethal injection. In: The Guardian. February 20, 2013, accessed February 20, 2013 . 
13. ↑ Georgia executes inmate Warren Hill after supreme court refuses stay