COLUMBUS (AP) — Gov. Ted Strickland on Thursday spared the life of a death row inmate who

COLUMBUS (AP) — Gov. Ted Strickland on Thursday spared the life of a death row inmate who killed his mother in a cocaine- induced rage and whose upcoming execution was opposed by his entire family, including his mother’s siblings.

Jeffrey Hill, 44, was scheduled to die by lethal injection March 3.

But Strickland said he agrees with the Ohio Parole Board, which recommended last week that Hill not be put to death and instead be sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years.

Hill stabbed his mother, Emma Hill, to death in 1991. As she lay dying in her Cincinnati apartment, he took $20 from her to spend on drugs. He returned later in the day and took $80.

Hill’s family said they had suffered enough and that putting him to death would only make things worse. The case was the first time an Ohio inmate facing death for killing a family member had unanimous backing from his family as he fought execution.

“Our family’s prayers have finally been answered,” said Eddie Sanders of Cincinnati, one of Hill’s two uncles.

Strickland, a Democrat, cited the views of the Hill family, as well as Hill’s poor legal assistance when he was sentenced.

The governor also cited Hill’s remorse, the fact that the death sentence was not equivalent to other nondeath sentences in cases where someone killed a mother or father, and the fact that two Ohio Supreme Court justices disagreed with his sentence.

“After the review of extensive material associated with this case, I concur with the unanimous rationale and recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board,” Strickland said in a statement.

David Bobby, warden of the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, told Hill the news Thursday afternoon.

“He seemed very happy,” Bobby said, according to an e-mail Bobby sent to prisons spokeswoman Andrea Carson.

Carson said the process for moving Hill from death row would start today. Hill entered the prisons system in July 1992. He has served nearly 17 years and could be eligible for parole in 2017.