The Georgia Supreme Court has temporarily granted a stay of execution to a man convicted of murder, but who is mentally ill. The Court stayed the execution of Warren Hill to consider whether Georgia’s method of execution is legal. Hill would have been the first inmate to be put to death using a new method involving a single dose of pentobarbital instead of the three-drug cocktail used in the past. However, the Court refused to consider a claim that Hill cannot be executed because he is mentally ill. Hill has an IQ of 70.
The Georgia Court of Appeals has limited the circumstances under which a defendant can plead guilty under the First Offender Act. In Higdon v. State, A11A0926, the Court of Appeals upheld a judge’s decision which refused to accept a defendant’s guilty plea under the First Offender Act to more than one case at the same time.
The Georgia Supreme Court has held that the exclusionary rule which protects a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights against illegal searches and seizures does not apply during probation revocation hearings. State v. Thackston, S10G1337. The Supreme Court decision will allow for admission of evidence from illegal searches of people on probation to be admitted during their probation revocation hearing.
