DEATH PENALTY CASE Judge denies inmate's request to dismiss motion

The convicted killer said he was 'railroaded.'
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Death-row inmate Danny Lee Hill said he wants to dismiss his motion to have his death sentence vacated.
During a status conference Monday on his case, Hill told visiting Judge Thomas Patrick Curran that he no longer wishes to go forward with the case.
Hill had filed a motion last year asking to have his death sentence vacated. To do that, Hill must prove he is mentally retarded.
He was convicted in 1986 of the sexual assault and mutilation death of Raymond Fife, 13, of Warren.
"I don't want this," Hill said. "I want to talk to the FBI. The public defender's office shouldn't be representing me because they handled my case the first time. I got tricked into signing a waiver saying they could. I was railroaded."
Hill also said he believes Dennis Watkins, the county prosecutor, and other officials conspired against him.
Judge Curran, however, said the case to have Hill's death sentence vacated will continue, and he set an Oct. 4 hearing date. During that hearing, psychologists and other witnesses could be called to provide evidence as to Hill's mental capacity.
IQ issue
Watkins and his assistant, LuWayne Annos, have stated in court motions that Hill was given an IQ test in 2000 and was found not to be retarded.
The prosecutors have said the U.S. Supreme Court didn't set an IQ level to determine whether defendants are legally retarded, but most states generally consider someone with an IQ of 70 or lower to be retarded.
Hill's score in 2000 put his IQ at 71.
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.
The federal appellate court ruling followed a June 2002 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that it's unconstitutional to execute people who are mentally retarded.
Psychological exams from the 1980s show Hill's IQ ranged from 55 to 68, officials said.
sinkovich@vindy.com