DANNY LEE HILL Defense requests a 4th expert witness

Hill's lawyers say he's mentally retarded and should be spared the death penalty.
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Prosecutor's office is asking a judge to reject a defense request to hire a fourth expert at taxpayer expense to help make the case that convicted killer Danny Lee Hill is mentally retarded.
Expert opinion at this stage in Hill's appeal to get off of Ohio's death row is 2-to-1 in favor of the prosecution on the question of whether he's mentally retarded, but Hill's public defenders want to hear from one more expert, Dr. Sara S. Sparrow of Yale University.
Hill was convicted of the 1986 sexual assault and mutilation death of Raymond Fife, 12, of Warren.
Hill's lawyers say he's mentally retarded and should therefore be spared the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that executing mentally retarded people constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and is unconstitutional.
Three experts have already testified on Hill's metal status. Dr. Nancy Huntsman, a Youngstown psychologist appointed by the court, concluded that Hill isn't mentally retarded. Dr. J. Gregory Olley, a North Carolina psychologist selected by the prosecution, reached the same conclusion while Dr. David Hammer of Columbus, the defense's expert, found that Hill is mildly mentally retarded.
'Malingered and deceived'
Gregory Meyers and Robert Lowe, of the Ohio Public Defender's Commission, asked Visiting Judge Thomas Patrick Curran to allow another expert to rebut the court's and prosecution's experts.
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and LuWayne Annos, assistant prosecutor, responding Friday to the defense motion for a fourth expert, wrote that Hill "is not just seeking 'tools' to ensure a fair hearing; he is looking for a Home Depot-furnished workshop and a union scale carpenter to facilitate the deconstruction of two unfavorable expert opinions."
Judge Curran of Cleveland spent several days this year listening to mental health experts and prison employees talk about Hill. Judge Curran is retired but is on special assignment by the state Supreme Court.
The prosecutor's office notes that the three psychologists who attempted to administer IQ and adaptive functioning tests have testified that Hill "malingered and deceived them and thwarted their efforts to accurately assess his mental functioning."
The judge will rule on the request for another expert after reading briefs from both the defense and prosecution. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati delayed Hill's appeal process in August 2002 pending a ruling from a state court on his mental capacity.