Warren Lee Hill Execution Set

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PRESS ADVISORY

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Execution Date Set for Warren Lee Hill, Convicted ofRuthless Murder of Fellow Prison Inmate

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens offers the following information in the case against WarrenLee Hill, who is currently scheduled to be executed on July 18, 2012.

Scheduled Execution

On July 2, 2012, the Superior Court of Lee County filed an order, setting the seven-day window inwhich the execution of Warren Lee Hill may occur to begin at noon, July 18, 2012, and ending

seven days later at noon on July 25, 2012. The Commissioner of the Department of Correctionshas scheduled the execution for 7:00 p.m. on July 18, 2012. Hill has concluded his direct appea lproceedings and his state and federal habeas corpus proceedings.

Hills Crime (1990)

In August of 1990, Hill and the victim, Joseph Handspike, were both incarcerated for murder atthe Lee Correctional Institution (hereinafter Lee C.I.). Hill was serving a life sentence formurdering his 18-year-old girlfriend, Myra Wright, in 1986 by shooting her eleven times.

During Hills trial for the Handspikes murder, a Lee C.I. correctional officer testified that at 5:10a.m., he heard a loud noise emanating from the inmates ' sleeping quarters in Wing C. Uponentering the wing to investigate, the officer witnessed Hill bludgeoning the victim, who was lying

in his bed. The officer quickly returned to his station, called for backup, and opened the securitygate to allow other officers to enter and assist. He then returned to the scene and saw that Hillhad ceased beating the victim. The officer demanded that Hill surrender his weapon, and Hillcomplied handing over the board he had used in the beating.

A correctional officer and the other witness testified that the victim was attacked while he wassleeping, and that he was unable to defend himself. Witnesses testified the board used tomurder the victim was a 2 x 6 that had been trimmed down to a leg, and that the board hadbeen a support for a sink in the bathroom of Wing C at the institution. In addition, there wastestimony that several nails protruded from one end of the board.

In regards to the victims injuries, a correctional officer testified that the victim was badly beatenin the upper body and face. The victim was bleeding profusely from his wounds, several teethwere knocked out and his left eye was detached from the socket. The victim, who was still


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conscious, attempted to raise himself and speak to the correctional officer; however, he wasunable to speak and had blood pouring from his mouth.

Following the attack, the victim was taken to the hospital where an emergency room doctorattempted to save his life for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. The victim wassubsequently pronounced dead from blunt head trauma.

Inmates who witnessed the attack testified that Hill's attack on the victim looked similar tosomeone chopping wood with an axe and during the attacked saying, You ain't bad, or

You a int bad now.

During the sentencing phase of Hills trial, the defense called several mitigation w itnesses.Specifically, defense counse l presented testimony from Hills family and from a clinicalpsychologist, Dr. William Dickinson. At trial, Dr. Dickinson testified that Hill was of be low normalintelligence and had evidence of organic brain damage. Dr. Dickinson admitted, however, thatHill knew the difference between right and wrong, was capable to stand trial for both murdersthat he committed, that he has a history of explosive episodes, that Hill told him he had been infights in prison and that he had the potential to be violent and assaultive in the future.

Evidence also established that family members prior to trial described Hill as the leader of thefamily, noting that he bas ically took over the family and the care of the family from his father atan early age. Hills siblings, who were by then adults, related that he had been their fatherfigure and depended on him to provide them with food, clothing, and paternal guidance. Bothhis siblings and his mother looked to Hill as the man of the house. A high school friend, who at

the time of trial was working as an electrical engineer for Scientific Atlanta designingtelecommunication systems, described Hill as bright, sharp, mature and level-headed.Evidence also showed that, following the completion of high school, Hill entered the Navy wherehe rose to the rank of Seaman Second Class.

While incarcerated for the murder of his girlfriend, Petitioner was evaluated for prison and it wasdetermined that he was of average intelligence or better, and that, inmate Hill's intelligencelevel (could) support skilled and semi-skilled training and an average degree of work status andresponsibility. Hill was then transferred to Lee C. I. in August of 1989.

The Trial (1991-1992)

Hill was indicted in the Superior Court of Lee County, Georgia on January 22, 1991, for the

offenses of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault. On July 31, 1991, following ajury trial, Hill was convicted as charged in the indictment. The jurys recommendation of a deathsentence was returned on August 2, 1991.

Hill filed a motion for new trial on September 17, 1991, and amendments thereto on December17, 1991, February 5, 1992 and March 11, 1992. This motion, as amended, was denied by thetrial court on June 5, 1992.

The Direct Appeal (1993)

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed Hills conviction and death sentence on March 15, 1993. Hillv. State, 263 Ga. 37, 427 S.E.2d 770 (1993). Hill filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the UnitedStates Supreme Court, which was denied on November 1, 1993. Hill v. Georgia, 510 U.S. 950(1993).

State Habeas Corpus Proceedings (1994-2003)

Hill, represented by the Georgia Resource Center, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus inthe Superior Court of Butts County, Georgia on April 14, 1994. Hill filed amendments thereto onSeptember 26, 1996 and December 13, 1996. In those proceedings, Hill alleged for the first timethat he was mentally retarded. Prior to these hearings, although receiving various IQ tests andscores, Hill had never scored in the mentally retarded range. On May 21, 1997, the state habeascorpus court utilized a non-statutory standard in granting a limited writ of habeas corpus for thepurpose of conducting a jury trial on Hills allegation of mental retardation. The State appealedthis decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. On appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court remandedthe case to the state habeas court with the directive that the state habeas court determinewhether Hill had established his claim of mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt. Turpin


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v. Hill, 269 Ga. 302, 304(4) (1998).

Following the remand, the state habeas corpus court conducted an evidentiary hearing onDecember 12-14, 2000. On May 13, 2002, the state habeas court entered an order finding thatPetitioner had failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt his claim of mental retardationand denied Petitioners request for relief. On September 16, 2002, the state habeas courtentered a supplemental order denying the remainder of Petitioners state habeas claims.However, on October 1, 2002, Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration of the state habeascourts May 13, 2002, Order. Thereafter, the state habeas court vacated its May 2002 Order andadopted Petitioners proposed order again finding that, under a non-statutory standard,

Petitioner had met his burden o f proof to establish his claim of mental retardation.

The State appealed this decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. On appea l, the Georgia SupremeCourt held that, following the United States Supreme Courts decision in Atkins v. Virginia, 536U.S. 304 (2002), the beyond a reasonable doubt standard continued to be an acceptablestandard of proof to apply to mental retardation claims. Head v. Hill, 277 Ga. 255, 260-262(2003). The Georgia Supreme Court vacat[ed] the habeas courts order granting the motion forreconsideration of Hills mental retardation claim and remand[ed] the case again for re-entry ofan order utilizing the proper standard of review. Head v. Hill, 277 Ga. at 263 (2003).Thereafter, the state habeas court vacated its order based on the motion for reconsiderationstating that its prior orders of May 13, 2002 and September 16, 2002, constituted the final ordersof the court. Hill did not appeal the state habeas courts final orders to the United StatesSupreme Court.

Federal Habeas Corpus Proceedings (2004-2008)

Hill, represented by the Georgia Resource Center, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus inthe United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on October 5, 2004. OnNovember 7, 2007, the district court denied Hill federal habeas corpus relief. The district courtdenied a motion to alter and amend judgment on August 22, 2008. The district court granted Hilla certificate of appealability on October 21, 2008.

11th Circuit Court of Appeals (2009-2011)

The case was orally argued before the Eleventh Circuit on June 2, 2009. On June 18, 2010, apanel of the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court. Hill v. Schofield, 608 F.3d 1272 (11th Cir.2010). The State requested rehearing en banc. On November 9, 2010, the Eleventh Circuit

vacated the panel opinion and granted rehearing. Hill v. Schofield, 625 F.3d 1313 (11th Cir.2010). Thereafter, the Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc, affirmed the denial of federal habeasrelief on November 22, 2011. Hill v. Humphrey, 662 F.3d 1335 (11th Cir. 2011).

United States Supreme Court (2012)

Hill filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was deniedJune 4, 2012. Hill v. Humphrey, 2012 U.S. LEXIS 4252 (2012).

Associated Document(s):

11th Circuit En Banc Decision.pdf

Warren Lee Hill Execution Set

Documents

Transcript of Warren Lee Hill Execution Set