Clarence Edward Hill (December 2, 1957 – September 20, 2006) was an American convicted murderer executed by the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. A native of

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, Alabama, Hill was convicted of the October 19, 1982 murder of

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, Florida police officer Stephen Taylor and the wounding of Taylor's partner, Larry Bailly, when both officers responded to a bank alarm. Hill was sentenced to death by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

. On January 24, 2006, as his execution was just moments away from commencing—Hill was strapped to a gurney with intravenous lines in his arms—it was stopped by a stay from Justice

Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Mr. Hill's lawyer, Todd Doss, had lobbied for the stay on the grounds that the chemicals involved in lethal injection violated Mr. Hill's Eighth Amendment rights, protecting against "

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisd ...

." On June 12, 2006, Justice Anthony Kennedy authored an opinion for a unanimous court in

Hill v. McDonough ''Hill v. McDonough'', 547 U.S. 573 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the use of lethal injection as a form of execution in the state of Florida. The Court ruled unanimously that a challenge to the method of execution as ...

which gave Hill a temporary reprieve. The Court concluded that Mr. Hill did have the right to make an Eighth Amendment claim against Florida's method of lethal injection, overturning a District Court ruling. The ruling did not declare that the chemical used in lethal injections in Florida was unconstitutional, but it allows inmates to make the claim. However, a district court in Tallahassee and an appeals court in Atlanta refused to hear Hill's challenges, ruling that he should have filed earlier. An appeal was again filed with the Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 on September 20, 2006 to deny another stay. Later that day, 24 years after his crime, Hill was executed through lethal injection by the state of Florida, at the

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida St ...

Raiford, Florida Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. The population was 255 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 236. It was home to the original Florida State Prison and continues to be ho ...

. He did not reply when asked if he had a last statement, staring straight at the ceiling, awaiting start of the lethal injection."Clarence Hill Executed In Florida"
WCBS-TV

References

External links

Inmate Release Information Detail - Inmate 089718
''

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in t ...

''. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Clarence 1957 births 2006 deaths 1982 murders in the United States 21st-century executions of American people 21st-century executions by Florida American bank robbers American people convicted of attempted murder American people executed for murdering police officers Executed African-American people People convicted of murder by Florida People executed by Florida by lethal injection People from Mobile, Alabama Executed people from Alabama 21st-century African-American people

See also

References

External links