Clemency Recommendation in Ohio

The minutes of the Ohio Parole Board's hearing to consider Jeffrey Hill's case is here.  "Ohio Parole Board: mercy for death row inmate," is Saturday's AP report.

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.

"Clemency recommended for man who stabbed mother," is Alan Johnson's report in the Saturday edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

The report released yesterday showed that the parole board was impressed by what it called the "compelling and unanimous opinion" of the family of the victim that her son and killer should not be put to death.

"They have suffered tremendous loss, and execution would add further to their suffering," the board said.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters, a strong supporter of capital punishment, told The Dispatch that he opposed clemency but will not pursue the matter further given the parole board's recommendation and strong support from the family.

"I would have preferred he stayed in jail the rest of his life," Deters said. "We did our job. Part of the law is that the governor can do this."

The board recommended to Strickland that Hill's death sentence be commuted to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years, making him eligible for release in about seven years.

In a letter to the editor published in The Dispatch last month, Hill's uncle, Eddie Sanders of Mount Healthy, urged public support for clemency.

"For 18 years, we have grieved Emma's passing," Sanders wrote. "As a family, we have gone through enough. Executing Jeffrey will not bring Emma back or negate our suffering. We already have suffered through the burial of a dear loved one. Our family hopes the state of Ohio honors Emma's wishes and does not force us to bury another."

"Parole board wants clemency for killer," is the Dayton Daily News report by Tom Beyerlein and Laura Bischoff.

In a death row interview with the Dayton Daily News last week, Hill said he didn't know how to answer when a parole board member asked him whether he deserved clemency. "I told them this is something I'll always deal with, knowing I took my mom's life and the shame associated with it and everything else."

Hill's uncles and aunt — who are siblings of Emma Hill — launched a campaign to overturn his death sentence. Family members wrote letters and testified at Hill's Jan. 29 clemency hearing. They also asked Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters to drop his opposition to clemency, but Deters refused.

Prosecutors argued that Hill received a fair trial, that Emma Hill was a very vulnerable victim and that the jury's verdict should outweigh the feelings of the victim's family.

The Ohio Parole Board has recommended clemency for a death row inmate only once before, in 2003, for Jerome Campbell, also of Hamilton County. In Campbell's case, DNA testing shot holes in evidence that was used against him at trial.

The Lantern, Ohio State University's student paper has the OpEd, "Ohio's misdirected justice," in today's edition. It's by Travis Schulze.

Last week the Ohio Parole Board voted unanimously to recommend clemency with parole eligibility after 25 years for Jeffrey Hill. It is now up to Gov. Ted Strickland to follow that recommendation and see that a family is not made to suffer through another family member's murder.

You, as a citizen, have the right to have your voice heard. Send letters to Gov. Strickland at: Governor's Office, Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43215.

Earlier coverage of the Hill case is here.  StandDown's clemency category index is here.