Attorneys for Danny Lee Hill say bite-mark evidence was relevant to his murder conviction
Published: Thu, July 21, 2016 @ 12:04 a.m.
Staff report
WARREN
Attorneys for Danny Lee Hill say prosecutors have attempted to minimize the importance of bite-mark evidence as a factor in convicting Hill in the murder, strangulation, rape and torture of Raymond Fife, 12, in 1985.
“In fact, at Mr. Hill’s trial, the prosecution relied on the bite-mark-comparison evidence throughout both the guilt and mitigation phases, and did so again during the state court appeals,” the filing in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said.
The unreliability of bite-mark evidence has been cited by Hill’s attorneys as the reason they believe Hill, 49, who is on death row for the Fife murder, should get a new trial.
Prosecutors used the bite-mark evidence as a way to identify Hill, now 49, as the perpetrator, the filing says.
Prosecutors told a three-judge panel in the opening statements of the trial that the bite-mark on Raymond’s penis was “relevant and probative of [Danny Hill’s] identify and intent to commit the crimes in question,” the filing says.
Prosecutors also called the bite-mark evidence a “trademark and blueprint” during closing arguments. They said during closing arguments of the penalty phase that Hill “didn’t follow anybody” when he bit Raymond, the filing says.
That was a reference to the other man convicted in the Fife killing, Tim Combs, who was 17 at the time and was sentenced to a life prison sentence.
Prosecutors have maintained in other filings that they used other evidence to link Hill to the crime besides the bite marks, including Hill’s own statements to police, an eyewitness account of Hill possessing a stick thought to have been used to assault Raymond and a witness’s testimony regarding Hill’s washing out of bloody clothes.
The next event in the case is a conference call with the parties at 1 p.m. Aug. 3 with Visiting Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove presiding.
- See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/jul/21/bite-mark-evidence-was-relevant-to-convi/#sthash.7Dy6D1YO.dpufWARREN
Attorneys for Danny Lee Hill say prosecutors have attempted to minimize the importance of bite-mark evidence as a factor in convicting Hill in the murder, strangulation, rape and torture of Raymond Fife, 12, in 1985.
“In fact, at Mr. Hill’s trial, the prosecution relied on the bite-mark-comparison evidence throughout both the guilt and mitigation phases, and did so again during the state court appeals,” the filing in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said.
The unreliability of bite-mark evidence has been cited by Hill’s attorneys as the reason they believe Hill, 49, who is on death row for the Fife murder, should get a new trial.
Prosecutors told a three-judge panel in the opening statements of the trial that the bite-mark on Raymond’s penis was “relevant and probative of [Danny Hill’s] identify and intent to commit the crimes in question,” the filing says.
Prosecutors also called the bite-mark evidence a “trademark and blueprint” during closing arguments. They said during closing arguments of the penalty phase that Hill “didn’t follow anybody” when he bit Raymond, the filing says.
That was a reference to the other man convicted in the Fife killing, Tim Combs, who was 17 at the time and was sentenced to a life prison sentence.
Prosecutors have maintained in other filings that they used other evidence to link Hill to the crime besides the bite marks, including Hill’s own statements to police, an eyewitness account of Hill possessing a stick thought to have been used to assault Raymond and a witness’s testimony regarding Hill’s washing out of bloody clothes.
The next event in the case is a conference call with the parties at 1 p.m. Aug. 3 with Visiting Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove presiding.
"Attorneys for Danny Lee Hill say prosecutors have attempted to minimize the importance of bite-mark evidence as a factor in convicting Hill in the murder, strangulation, rape and torture of Raymond Fife, 12, in 1985. “In fact, at Mr. Hill’s trial, the prosecution relied on the bite-mark-comparison evidence throughout both the guilt and mitigation phases, and did so again during the state court appeals,” the filing in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said. The unreliability of bite-mark evidence has been cited by Hill’s attorneys as the reason they believe Hill, 49, who is on death row for the Fife murder, should get a new trial. Prosecutors used the bite-mark evidence as a way to identify Hill, now 49, as the perpetrator, the filing says. Prosecutors told a three-judge panel in the opening statements of the trial that the bite-mark on Raymond’s penis was “relevant and probative of [Danny Hill’s] identify and intent to commit the crimes in question,” the filing says. Prosecutors also called the bite-mark evidence a “trademark and blueprint” during closing arguments. They said during closing arguments of the penalty phase that Hill “didn’t follow anybody” when he bit Raymond, the filing says. That was a reference to the other man convicted in the Fife killing, Tim Combs, who was 17 at the time and was sentenced to a life prison sentence.".........The next event in the case is a conference call with the parties at 1 p.m. Aug. 3 with Visiting Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove presiding."
http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/jul/21/bite-mark-evidence-was-relevant-to-convi/
