WARREN – A rare empaneling of the full Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today heard more arguments on whether or not convicted murder Danny Lee Hill can be executed because of an intellectual disability.

For almost 90 minutes using virtual technology, more than a dozen federal judges questioned two lawyers about the psychological testing and expert opinion deciding the intellectual status of the defendant who was sentenced to death more than three decades ago for the 1985 rape and murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife of Warren.

Vicki Werneke, assistant federal public defender for the U.S. Northern Ohio District, and Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers each presented a five-minute arguments, stating their case, while each judge had three minutes each to ask questions.

Werneke’s discourse centered on how through the years, neither side disputed the low IQ or whether Hill had trouble academically.

“Danny Lee Hill has been intellectually disable his entire life and his entire adult life has been spent on death row,” Werneke said noting that a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a intellectually disabled inmate can’t be executed.

The defense attorney noted that during the trial level, experts had testified to Hill’s disability but at the time, there was no restriction for the death penalty.

“The school records and psychological evaluations were clear that (Hill’s) disability goes back to age 6,” Werneke said.

Werneke argued that the Hill case is similar to a Louisiana decision that went the defendant’s way, however, Flowers disagreed saying the circumstances were different.

A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit had ruled in 2019 that executing Hill would be unconstitutional, but the Ohio Attorney General’s office had sought this rare “en back” full empaneling of the court. One justice – Eric Earl Murphy – recused himself from the hearing because he had argued the case against Hill when he was state solicitor general.

Court experts believe the full court will take a few months to study the arguments and render a decision.

For the complete story, read Wednesday’s newspaper.