Deal hesitant about death penalty changes following developments in Warren Hill case
‘I’d be very, very cautious for us to get into that arena’
Gov. Nathan Deal isn’t exactly eager to change Georgia’s death penalty following the legal kerfuffle surrounding the possible execution of Warren Lee Hill.
In an interview with WABE, the governor touched briefly on why he’s hesitant to call for changes to the state’s death penalty. The remarks come as Hill, a “mentally retarded” man who faces execution for killing a fellow inmate in 1991, will endure another round of legal skirmishes next month after already receiving three separate stays of execution this year.
Deal commented briefly on two contentious points in the case for the first time since the latest round of tense legal proceedings took place. On Georgia’s requirements proving inmate mental “retardation” beyond a reasonable doubt, he said:
I’d be very, very cautious for us to get into that arena because some of what we have now has not been legislatively established but judiciously established. It is an area where there’s a lot of concern about, but I haven’t heard anyone say we statutorily change the model that we have.
When it comes to the state’s new lethal injection secrecy law, which allows for lethal injection drug suppliers to remain confidential, he called it a “difficult” matter and noted:
It’s such a scrutinized issue for any pharmacy that provides any of the chemical makeups. They possibly could suffer other consequences by virtue of that.
Meanwhile, Hill’s attorneys are gearing up for another round of courtroom battles next month. Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens has already filed a petition for immediate review over recent court rulings in the inmate’s favor surrounding the secrecy law objections. The Georgia Supreme Court will look at those arguments next month when it returns from a month-long recess. In addition, the case may also get a look from the U.S. Supreme Court to see if Hill’s Eighth Amendment arguments regarding the execution of “mentally retarded” inmates holds water.
Deal can’t pardon Hill. He oversees one of the few states where a governor lacks that power, which belongs to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. But it’s his lack of support, given the ability to call for such changes, that shows where he stands on the issue.