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| Georgia Execution Chamber |
Condemned killer Warren Lee Hill, whose mental retardation claims have attracted international attention, was spared execution Tuesday night with less than an hour to go before he was to be put to death.
Hill had already been given a sedative to prepare for his lethal injection, shortly after the state parole board declined to commute Hill’s capital sentence and after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay, which could be a sign that his chances are slim of avoiding another scheduled execution.
But then, the federal appeals court in Atlanta, by a 2-1 vote, halted Hill’s execution for at least 30 days.
“All of the experts — both the state’s and (Hill’s) — now appear to be in agreement that Hill is in fact mentally retarded,” Judges Rosemary Barkett and Stanley Marcus wrote in granting Hill a “conditional” stay of execution.
Judge Frank Hull dissented, saying there is a wealth of “reliable and unbiased evidence” in the voluminous case that shows Hill is not mentally retarded.
At about the same time the federal appeals court issued its stay, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued its own, saying it needed more time to consider a separate challenge to Georgia’s lethal-injection procedure.
“I’m relieved that someone took a serious look at Warren’s claims,” Hill’s attorney, Brian Kammer, said shortly after telling his client the news. Hill was somewhat unresponsive and sounded nervous, even when told his execution had been put on hold, Kammer said.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 19, 2013