Gov. Ted Strickland Granted Clemency to Jeff Hill

Ohio governor. Ted Strickland granted clemency to Jeff Hill this afternoon. The press release and statement by the Governor's Office is posted below.

Statement Regarding Clemency Application of Jeffrey D. Hill

Columbus , Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland today issued the following statement regarding the pending clemency application of Jeffrey D. Hill:

“Jeffrey Hill was convicted, by a jury, of the aggravated murder of Emma Hill, his mother. He is scheduled to be executed on March 3, 2009.

On February 6, 2009, the Ohio Parole Board unanimously recommended that Mr. Hill be granted a commutation of his death sentence to a sentence of from 25 years to life. The Parole Board cited five basic reasons for its recommendation: the views of the victim’s family, the lack of adequate representation by counsel at Mr. Hill’s sentencing, the remorse demonstrated by Mr. Hill regarding his actions, the lack of proportionality of the sentence of death in this case when compared with similar murder cases, and the expressed views of two justices of the Ohio Supreme Court which reviewed this case on appeal.

In making my determination regarding Mr. Hill’s clemency application, my staff and I have reviewed the record of the proceedings and the evidence presented in Mr. Hill’s case, the judicial decisions regarding Mr. Hill’s conviction, the Application for Executive Clemency filed by Mr. Hill’s attorney and arguments presented for and against the clemency request, and other materials provided by attorneys. We have also reviewed letters and petitions received in the Governor’s office regarding this matter and supplemental briefings provided by the Ohio Public Defender’s office. Finally, we reviewed the Ohio Parole Board’s report and recommendation.

Based on this review, I concur with the rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board and have, therefore, decided to commute Mr. Hill’s sentence to a term of from 25 years to life.”

A copy of the warrant of commutation of sentence is included below:

Warrant of Commutation of Sentence

1. Jeffrey D. Hill #A261-876 was convicted of the crime of Aggravated Murder with a Death Penalty Specification and sentenced by the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to death.
   

2. Mr. Hill is currently incarcerated in the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and is scheduled to be executed on March 3, 2009.
   

3. After the review of extensive material associated with this case, I concur with the unanimous rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board.
   

4. Accordingly, I direct that the sentence of death of Jeffrey D. Hill be commuted to a term of from 25 years to life.
   

5. I signed this Warrant of Commutation on February 12, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio.
   

____________________________

Ted Strickland, Governor

Filed the 13^th day of February, 2009 with the Hamilton County Common Pleas Clerk of Court by Jose A. Torres.