A federal judge has denied Victor Hill’s request to remain free pending appeal of his conviction, paving the way for the former Clayton County sheriff to be incarcerated next Monday in an Arkansas prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross, who presided over Hill’s trial, said Friday that she did not think that arguments made by the ex-lawman’s legal team would “present substantial questions of law that might change the outcome of his conviction upon appeal,” according to documents filed with the court.
Hill was convicted by a federal jury in October of violating the civil rights of six detainees of the Clayton County Jail by ordering them strapped to restraint chairs as punishment. The chairs can only lawfully be used to prevent detainees from harming themselves or others.
Ross sentenced Hill in March to 18 months in prison, six years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Credit: Lauren Lacy for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Lauren Lacy for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Attorneys for Hill filed an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta days after his sentencing, arguing in part that Hill had not been warned that strapping the men in the chairs was illegal. The appeal also argues that prosecutors failed to establish that use of the chairs lacked a non-punitive purpose.
The appeal says the judge erred in pushing the jury to continue deliberating after the forewoman said they were deadlocked because of concerns over the cognitive abilities of one juror. Despite Hill’s team repeatedly calling for a mistrial, the attorneys said Ross summoned the juror into the courtroom and, after receiving affirmation from him that he could continue, instructed the jury to return to deliberations.
The jury soon convicted Hill on six of the seven counts before them.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
“The Court finds that none of the three (3) arguments Defendant identifies in his motion for bond pending appeal present substantial questions of law that might change the outcome of his conviction upon appeal. For the same reasons, Defendant fails to present any support for his request to continue his self-surrender date,” Ross said in her order.
Hill is expected to turn himself in to FCI Forrest City in Forrest City, Arkansas, by noon on May 15. The federal bureau of prisons describes FCI Forrest City as “a low-security facility with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp.”
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