TRUMBULL COUNTY Experts to offer results of tests on killer's IQ

The Supreme Court says it's unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Convicted killer Danny Lee Hill, in a hearing today, is hoping to convince a judge that he is mentally retarded so he can be taken off Ohio's Death Row.
The hearing to decide Hill's case is in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court with a visiting judge, Thomas Patrick Curran, presiding.
The hearing is expected to last about a week, court officials said.
During the hearing, experts hired by the court, defense and prosecution will testify about whether they believe Hill is mentally retarded.
All three experts tested Hill and the results of those tests will be released during the hearing, court officials said.
Dr. David Hammer, a psychologist, hired by Hill's defense team, is expected to begin testifying this morning.
Atty. Greg Myers of the state public defender's office, who is one of the attorneys representing Hill, could not be reached to comment.
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and LuWayne Annos, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, selected Dr. Greg Olley, a psychologist from North Carolina, as their expert. Olley is scheduled to testify Wednesday, Annos said.
Judge Curran selected Dr. Nancy Huntsman of Austintown, who will testify after Olley, officials said.
Hill was convicted in 1986 of the sexual assault and mutilation death of Raymond Fife, 13, of Warren.
Effect on family
The victim's mother, Miriam, says she is not looking forward to the hearing.
"After so many years, after learning how to live with your grief, and remembering all the good and putting the bad things in the back of your mind, every time you have to go in the courtroom and look at this piece of trash, it brings back all the horrible things that happened to your child and you live the nightmare all over again," Miriam Fife said.
Prosecutors 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