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| Warren Hill faces legal uncertainty despite stay of execution | Warren Hill faces legal uncertainty despite stay of execution |
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| Warren Hill, the intellectually disabled prisoner in Georgia who came within half an hour of being put to death on Tuesday night, was in a state of legal uncertainty on Wednesday as lawyers struggle to work out what happens next. | Warren Hill, the intellectually disabled prisoner in Georgia who came within half an hour of being put to death on Tuesday night, was in a state of legal uncertainty on Wednesday as lawyers struggle to work out what happens next. |
| With about 30 minutes to go before Hill was injected with a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital, two separate courts stepped in to impose a temporary delay in the proceedings. The federal appeals court in Atlanta ordered that the execution should be delayed for at least 30 days, while a Georgia court of appeals imposed its own stay to give the courts more time to consider the propriety of the single lethal injection as a method of killing. | With about 30 minutes to go before Hill was injected with a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital, two separate courts stepped in to impose a temporary delay in the proceedings. The federal appeals court in Atlanta ordered that the execution should be delayed for at least 30 days, while a Georgia court of appeals imposed its own stay to give the courts more time to consider the propriety of the single lethal injection as a method of killing. |
| The interventions take Hill, 52, out of immediate peril. But his position remains precarious given the temporary nature of the postponements. | The interventions take Hill, 52, out of immediate peril. But his position remains precarious given the temporary nature of the postponements. |
| While he was spared execution, Hill was delivered a serious blow in the form of a denial by the US supreme court to hear his case. That decision means that Hill's options would be limited, should he come close to execution again. | While he was spared execution, Hill was delivered a serious blow in the form of a denial by the US supreme court to hear his case. That decision means that Hill's options would be limited, should he come close to execution again. |
| It was unclear why the supreme court declined to hear the case – whether in deference to lower courts or for a more fundamental reason. The supreme court is heavily entwined in the Hill case because it was the court's own 2002 ruling, Atkins v Virginia, that banned the death sentence for "mentally retarded" prisoners. | It was unclear why the supreme court declined to hear the case – whether in deference to lower courts or for a more fundamental reason. The supreme court is heavily entwined in the Hill case because it was the court's own 2002 ruling, Atkins v Virginia, that banned the death sentence for "mentally retarded" prisoners. |
| Hill has now been found to be intellectually disabled – or, as the courts still put it, "mentally retarded" – by all nine medical specialists who have evaluated him. But in a catch-22, the supreme court allows individual states to determine how they define the condition, and Georgia is the only state in the union that requires prisoners to prove it "beyond a reasonable doubt" – a standard that experts say is almost impossible to achieve. | Hill has now been found to be intellectually disabled – or, as the courts still put it, "mentally retarded" – by all nine medical specialists who have evaluated him. But in a catch-22, the supreme court allows individual states to determine how they define the condition, and Georgia is the only state in the union that requires prisoners to prove it "beyond a reasonable doubt" – a standard that experts say is almost impossible to achieve. |
| Hill had been scheduled to be executed at 7pm at the same prison where Troy Davis was put to death in September 2011 amid massive international outcry. Davis's death, despite substantial evidence of his innocence, prompted dramatic scenes at the prison where hundreds of protesters were confronted by armed Swat police armed with a police helicopter flying overhead. | Hill had been scheduled to be executed at 7pm at the same prison where Troy Davis was put to death in September 2011 amid massive international outcry. Davis's death, despite substantial evidence of his innocence, prompted dramatic scenes at the prison where hundreds of protesters were confronted by armed Swat police armed with a police helicopter flying overhead. |
| His scheduled execution attracted a comparatively small response, with few protesters and campaigners present in the prison grounds as the appointed hour approached. This was the second time in seven months that Hill has come close to the death chamber: last July he was spared by just 90 minutes and the experience was repeated on Tuesday night with just 30 minutes to go. | His scheduled execution attracted a comparatively small response, with few protesters and campaigners present in the prison grounds as the appointed hour approached. This was the second time in seven months that Hill has come close to the death chamber: last July he was spared by just 90 minutes and the experience was repeated on Tuesday night with just 30 minutes to go. |
| Before the stay of execution, former president Jimmy Carter repeated his appeal for a postponement, saying: "Georgia should not violate its own prohibition against executing individuals with seriously diminished capacity." | Before the stay of execution, former president Jimmy Carter repeated his appeal for a postponement, saying: "Georgia should not violate its own prohibition against executing individuals with seriously diminished capacity." |
| The European Union also made formal protests through the British and Irish consulates in Atlanta, focusing on Hill's disabilities. "This case has raised attention around the world, with particular concern around Mr Hill's intellectual disability," said Annabelle Malins, the British consul general. | The European Union also made formal protests through the British and Irish consulates in Atlanta, focusing on Hill's disabilities. "This case has raised attention around the world, with particular concern around Mr Hill's intellectual disability," said Annabelle Malins, the British consul general. |
| Hill's attorney, Brian Kammer, issued a statement after the stay: "All the doctors who have examined Mr Hill are unanimous in their diagnosis of mental retardation, so there is no question that his execution would have been in violation of the US supreme court's 2002 ruling in Atkins v Virginia. | Hill's attorney, Brian Kammer, issued a statement after the stay: "All the doctors who have examined Mr Hill are unanimous in their diagnosis of mental retardation, so there is no question that his execution would have been in violation of the US supreme court's 2002 ruling in Atkins v Virginia. |
| "The state of Georgia remains an extreme outlier in requiring that defendants prove they have mental retardation 'beyond a reasonable doubt'. This is the strictest standard in any jurisdiction in the nation. Even Warren Hill, a man with an IQ of 70 who is diagnosed as mentally retarded by every doctor who has examined him, found it impossible to meet this standard of proof." | "The state of Georgia remains an extreme outlier in requiring that defendants prove they have mental retardation 'beyond a reasonable doubt'. This is the strictest standard in any jurisdiction in the nation. Even Warren Hill, a man with an IQ of 70 who is diagnosed as mentally retarded by every doctor who has examined him, found it impossible to meet this standard of proof." |
| One of the issues that must now be considered is the method of execution in Georgia. Since last July the state has opted to use just one massive dose of the sedative pentobarbital as its lethal injection, instead of a cocktail of three different drugs. The triple injection had become problematic because Georgia was running out of the drugs in question. | One of the issues that must now be considered is the method of execution in Georgia. Since last July the state has opted to use just one massive dose of the sedative pentobarbital as its lethal injection, instead of a cocktail of three different drugs. The triple injection had become problematic because Georgia was running out of the drugs in question. |
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