State v. Hill

• Decision Date: 11 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2006-T-0039.,2006-T-0039.
• Citation: 894 N.E.2d 108,2008 Ohio 3509,177 Ohio App.3d 171
• Parties: The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. HILL, Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

894 N.E.2d 108

177 Ohio App.3d 171

2008-Ohio-3509

The STATE of Ohio, Appellee, v. HILL, Appellant.

No. 2006-T-0039.

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eleventh District, Trumbull County.

Decided July 11, 2008.

Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County Prosecuting Attorney, and LuWayne Annos, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Michael J. Benza, Cleveland, and Jillian S. Davis, for appellant.

DIANE V. GRENDELL, P.J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Danny Lee Hill, appeals the judgment of the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas denying his petition for postconviction relief. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the court below.

{¶ 2} On September 10, 1985, 12-year-old Raymond Fife was found brutalized in a field near his home in Warren, Ohio. Raymond died two days later. In September 1985, Hill and an accomplice, Timothy Combs, were indicted for the crime. In 1986, Hill was found guilty, by a three-judge panel in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, of the following charges: aggravated murder with specifications of aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, and felonious sexual penetration.

{¶ 3} On February 26, 1986, a mitigation hearing was held to determine whether the death penalty would be imposed for Raymond's murder. The three-judge panel "considered the following factors in possible mitigation: (1) The age of the defendant; (2) The low intelligence of the defendant; (3) The poor family environment; (4) The failure of the State or society to prevent this crime; (5) The defendant's impaired judgment; (6) Whether or not he was a leader or follower." The three-judge panel concluded that "the aggravating circumstances in this case outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt."

{¶ 4} On March 5, 1986, Hill was sentenced to the following: death for aggravated murder; imprisonment for an indeterminate period of ten to 25 years for kidnapping; imprisonment for determinate period of life for rape; imprisonment for an indeterminate period of ten to 25 years for aggravated arson; and imprisonment for a determinate period of life for felonious sexual penetration.

{¶ 5} Hill's convictions and sentence were upheld on appeal by this court. State v. Hill (Nov. 27, 1989), 11th Dist. No. 3720, 3745, 1989 WL 142761. In our review of the appropriateness of imposing the death penalty, this court noted: "The record is replete with competent, credible evidence which states that appellant has a diminished mental capacity. He is essentially illiterate, displays poor word and concept recognition and, allegedly, has deficient motor skills. Appellant is characterized as being mildly to moderately retarded. There is some suggestion that appellant's `mental age' is that of a seven to nine year old boy. Testimony places appellant's I.Q. between 55 and 71, which would cause him to be categorized as mildly to moderately retarded." Id. at *32. This court affirmed the conclusion that the evidence of low intelligence and impaired judgment were not significant mitigating factors. "Consideration of evidence delineating appellant's mental retardation is more properly applied when evaluating his ability to knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his constitutional rights. There is no evidence presented that requires the conclusion that this crime was committed because a mental defect precluded appellant from making the correct moral or legal choice." Id. at *32.

{¶ 6} Hill appealed his case to the Ohio Supreme Court, which, in accordance with R.C. 2929.05(A), independently reviewed the record to determine that the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing outweigh the mitigating factors present in the case and that the sentence of death is the appropriate sentence in the case. State v. Hill (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 313, 335, 595 N.E.2d 884.

{¶ 7} The Supreme Court acknowledged that Hill's "mental retardation is a possible mitigating factor." Id. The court summarized the testimony of the psychologists who testified during the mitigation phase of Hill's trial:

{¶ 8} Dr. Douglas Darnall, a psychologist, testified that defendant had an I.Q. of 55 and that his intelligence level according to testing fluctuates between mild retarded and borderline intellectual functioning, and that he is of limited intellectual ability. Dr. Darnall did state, however, that defendant was able to intellectually understand right from wrong.

{¶ 9} Dr. Nancy Schmidtgoessling, a clinical psychologist, testified that defendant had a full scale I.Q. of 68, which is in the mild range of mental retardation, and that the defendant's mother was also mildly retarded.

{¶ 10} Dr. Schmidtgoessling also testified that defendant's moral development level was "primitive," a level at which "one do[es] things based on whether you think you'll get caught or whether it feels good. [T]hat's essentially whereabout [sic] a 2-year old is."

{¶ 11} Dr. Douglas Crush, another psychologist, testified that defendant had a fullscale I.Q. of 64, and that his upper level cortical functioning indicated very poor efficiency.

{¶ 12} Having reviewed this testimony, the Supreme Court found "a very tenuous relationship between the acts he committed and his level of mental retardation." Id. at 335, 595 N.E.2d 884. "When considering the manner in which the victim was kidnapped and killed; the rape, burning, strangulation and torture the victim endured," the court concluded that "these aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt" and affirmed the sentence of death. Id.

{¶ 13} In 2002, the United States Supreme Court held that the execution of mentally retarded criminals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments. Atkins v. Virginia (2002), 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335. In State v. Lott, 97 Ohio St.3d 303, 2002-Ohio-6625, 779 N.E.2d 1011, the Ohio Supreme Court addressed the implications of the Atkins decision on the execution of capital punishment in Ohio. The court adopted three criteria for establishing mental retardation, based on clinical definitions approved in Atkins: "(1) significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, (2) significant limitations in two or more adaptive skills, such as communication, self-care, and self-direction, and (3) onset before the age of 18." Id. at ¶ 12. The court further held that "[w]hile IQ tests are one of the many factors that need to be considered, they alone are not sufficient to make a final determination on this issue," and "there is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant is not mentally retarded if his or her IQ is above 70." Id.

{¶ 14} On January 17, 2003, Hill filed a petition to vacate Danny Hill's death sentence pursuant to Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335, State v. Lott, 97 Ohio St.3d 303, 2002-Ohio-6625, 779 N.E.2d 1011, and R.C. 2953.21. Hill asserted that his mental retardation is "a fact of record in his case" and that the state is thereby "barred by the doctrine of collateral estoppel from any attempt to relitigate the proven fact that [Hill] is a person with mental retardation." In the alternative, Hill argued the trial court should take judicial notice of the fact that he is a person with mental retardation and/or hold a hearing on the issue of his mental retardation.

{¶ 15} On April 4, 2003, the trial court ruled that Hill's petition stated "substantive ground for relief sufficient to warrant an evidentiary hearing." The court granted the state's and Hill's requests to retain their own experts in the field of mental retardation. Over Hill's objection, the court determined to retain its own expert to evaluate Hill "pursuant to his Atkins claim." The court denied Hill's request to have a jury empanelled to adjudicate his Atkins claim.

{¶ 16} The state retained as its expert Dr. J. Gregory Olley, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a director of the university's Center for the Study of Development and Learning. Hill retained as his expert Dr. David Hammer, a professor at the Ohio State University and the director of psychology services at the university's Nisonger Center. The court, through the Forensic Center of Northeast Ohio, retained Dr. Nancy Huntsman, of the Court Psychiatric Clinic of Cleveland.

{¶ 17} In April 2004, Drs. Olley, Hammer, and Huntsman evaluated Hill at the Mansfield Correctional Institution for the purposes of preparing for the Atkins hearing. At this time, Hill was administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ("WAIS-III") IQ test, the Test of Mental Malingering, the Street Survival Skills Questionnaire, and the Woodcock-Johnson-III. The doctors concurred that Hill was either "faking bad" and/or malingering in the performance of these tests. As a result, the full scale IQ score of 58 obtained on this occasion was deemed unreliable, and no psychometric assessment of Hill's current adaptive functioning was possible. Thus, the doctors were forced to rely on collateral sources in reaching their conclusions, such as Hill's school records containing evaluations of his intellectual functioning, evaluations performed at the time of Hill's sentencing and while Hill was on death row, institutional records from the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution and the Mansfield Correctional Institution, interviews with Hill, corrections officers, and case workers, and prior court records and testimony.

{¶ 18} The evidentiary hearing on Hill's Atkins petition was held on October 4 through 8 and 26 through 29, 2004, and on March 23 through 24, 2005. Doctors Olley and Huntsman testified that in their opinion, Hill is not mentally retarded. Doctor Hammer concluded that Hill qualifies for a diagnosis of mild mental retardation.

{¶ 19} In the course of the trial, an issue arose regarding the interpretation of the results of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale test, a test designed to measure adaptive...