TIM HANCOCK GETS LWOP AFTER OHIO'S FIRST EVER MITIGATION ONLY TRIAL

Tim Hancock became the first person in Ohio to face a jury seated only to decide whether to impose death or a life sentence. Initially, Tim had been convicted and sentenced to death; but the Ohio Supreme Court reversed his death sentence and ordered a new mitigation-phase trial. The second jury voted for life without parole.

Tim Hancock went to prison in 1990 after pleading guilty to Aggravated Murder, a charge reduced from a capital felony-murder of an elderly woman.

On November 13, 2000, Tim was in the Segregation Unit ("the hole") of the Protective Custody Unit in Warren Correctional Institution. He killed his cellmate nine hours after prison officials forced him to accept a cellie. A year later, a jury convicted him and signed a death verdict predicated on two specifications: prior purposeful murder; murder while in detention.

The judge rejected the death verdict after learning that jurors had trial-phase evidence with them during mitigation-phase deliberations that the judge had ruled off limits. He imposed LWOP. He did not override the death verdict based on an independent weighing of the aggravators against the mitigators.

The prosecutor appealed. The District Appellate Court ruled that the spat over the evidence did not give reason to reject the death verdict, and ordered the trial judge to either accept or reject the death verdict on the merits. The judge imposed death.

Tim appealed. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed his conviction, but remanded for a new mitigation phase trial to clean up the mess.

Tim became the first person under Ohio's 1981 capital statutes to face a jury seated only to consider whether death was appropriate. His trial began with the jurors being told they were bound to accept the first jury's finding of guilt on Aggravated Murder with two capital specifications. That ended the State's case in chief.

Tim presented mitigation on three fronts: Tim suffered from a serious mental illness that influenced his conduct during the murder, even though it fell short of an insanity defense that the first jury rejected; the prison's hands were dirty for violating their double-celling policy; the victim contributed to the cycle of events that led to murder.

Tim is a an extremely volatile man caught in the grip of a mental illness that causes sweeping mood changes, pathological paranoia, and occasional psychotic symptoms. The defense psychologist labeled it Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar type, and Borderline Personality Disorder. The prosecution's psychiatrist labeled it Borderline Personality Disorder co-existing with strong evidence of malingering by faking auditory and visual hallucinations. Both agreed that Tim's fifteen year history of mental-health treatment in prison painted the picture of a person with significant mental illness.

Tim's prison records depicted a person intolerant of gay men and hostile towards child rapists. Nearly a decade before the murder, he told prison psychologists he'd been sexually victimized by older males when he was an adolescent; but he denied being a victim on several other occasions. Six years before the murder, he assaulted a cellie for making homosexual advances. The afternoon of the murder, officials forced him to cell with a notorious child rapist who actively engaged in prison sex. A couple of hours before the murder, Tim said the victim made a pass at him, spoke salaciously about how he raped a four year old girl, and described how he had duct-taped her to attic rafters then nailed shut the access panel.

With a combination of trickery and intimidation, Tim cajoled the victim into restraints on the top bunk by saying he wanted to feign an assault to gain a transfer to another prison. Once restrained, Tim told the victim he was going to kill him the way he had tried but failed to kill the little girl. Tim strangled him.

Tim told the police he killed the victim to retaliate against the prison for forcing him to double cell, because of the victim's crime, and because he made a pass.

In mitigation, we played Tim's taped confession to present evidence of how Tim described the victim's conduct in the cell, and to explain how Tim described his reasons for committing the murder. We presented a corrections expert to explain how the prison's double-celling decision violated Ohio policies and national standards. We called two inmates who witnessed Tim protesting the double-celling decision. We presented mental-health evidence from a psychologist who evaluated Tim and his records, and from a Social Worker who treated Tim for several months before the murder. We called the Chairperson of the Ohio Parole Board to testify that, but for Tim's second murder, he almost certainly would have been paroled on his first aggravated murder by the time was near fifty years old, which meant another life sentence would have a punitive impact.

The State's rebuttal worked to Tim's advantage. Their attempt to prove "reasonable compliance" with the double-celling policy sounded like an overly eager cover-up of a bad decision. Their psychiatrist corroborated the serious symptoms of Tim's mental illness despite the fact he disagreed with our expert's diagnosis. And we blocked them from challenging Tim's account of the victim's crimes. They got away with that argument during the first trial by calling Tim a liar whose words about the victim's alleged crimes could not be trusted. This time we stood ready to counter with court documents, police documents, and the testimony of the lead detective. The judge ruled this evidence inadmissible unless the prosecution opened the door by calling Tim a liar again. They kept quiet.

The jurors rejected death and imposed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mr. Hancock was represented at trial by OPD counsel Greg Meyers, Bill Mooney, and Rachel Troutman. He won the right to a new mitigation trial through the work of OPD counsel Joe Wilhelm, Kelly Culshaw, Rachel Troutman, Justin Thompson, and former OPD Wendi Dotson.

Inquiries about this case may be directed to Mr. Hancock's trial counsel, Greg Meyers, Bill Mooney, or Rachel Troutman. The Ohio Supreme Court's opinion may be accessed through the following link:
State v. Hancock, 108 Ohio St.3d 57, 2006-Ohio-106

http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/newpdf/0/2006/2006-ohio-160.pdf

Timothy Hancock #219467
Man C I Inf 13
PO Box 788
Mansfield
Ohio 44901
USA

Dear Friends and Supporters

As you know I won a mitigation trial and was given life without parole! Actually 888 years and 88 days to be precise.

I am still not abandoing my appeals for a complete new trial!! Not until justice is served for all and the corruption of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation is exposed.

I want to thank each and everyone who helped, wrote and supported me, a special thanks to Karen, a first class lass she is!! Also to "Harley" Diane and Amnesty International, My neice Jamie and to you all. Linda Colburn, God Bless. Lynne C, write now (smile)
To each and to all of you God Bless and much love.

There is a lot more fight ahead, not only for me, but for the many many wrongfully convicted people. Remember if not for a lot of you, many will be executed.
Its not always how big the fight is, but how much fight we have in us.

Please do write to me and let me know how you all are.

Thanks and God Bless

Tim.

Tim back at Mansfield

You can write to Tim at the address below

Timothy L Hancock A219467
Man C I
PO Box 788
Mansfield
Ohio 44901 USA


Email messages can be sent to timothylhancock@yahoo.com
Tim has no access to a computer so any emails will be passed onto him.If you wish a reply by snail mail please add your postal address.Thank you.

Once sentenced to death, killer now faces life in prison

Once sentenced to death, killer now faces life in prison
By Tiffany Y. Latta
Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
LEBANON — A man who once sentenced to die for killing a convicted child rapist will now serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After deliberating for five hours, a Warren County jury on Monday night recommended Judge James L. Flannery sentence Timothy L. Hancock, 37, to spend the rest of his life in prison strangling his cellmate Jason Wagoner, a convicted child sex offender.
The jury of eight women and four men could have recommended death, life with the possibility of parole after 25 years or life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
A different jury recommended in 2001 that Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge Neal Bronson sentence Hancock to death for the murder of Wagner, 25, of Lancaster who was serving 44 years to life for kidnapping and the attempted murder of a 3-year-old Lancaster girl.
But Bronson sentenced Hancock to life in prison after learning jurors wrongly received exhibits — an audiotaped confession and photos — during the sentencing phase.
Bronson later sentenced Hancock to death after the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals ruled in 2003 that Bronson erred in ignoring the jury's recommendation. However, four Ohio Supreme Court justices ruled in February 2006 that the jury's recommendation of death was invalid and ordered that Hancock get a new sentencing hearing for the crime.
During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors urged jurors to sentence Hancock to death.
Prosecutors told jurors they need not consider Hancock's claims of mental illness, but listen to Hancock's own words as to why he killed Wagner seven years ago.
Hancock was recorded saying he killed Wagner not to avenge the crimes Wagner committed the 3-year-old girl, but instead to teach prison officials a lesson for putting someone in his single cell.
"... I more or less used her as a crutch to just let my anger just (expletive) fly. Because in my mind I'm thinking I bet they won't put anybody else in here...,'' Hancock said.
Hancock's attorney, however, asked jurors to sentence Hancock to life without parole.
Greg Meyers, chief counsel for the Ohio Public Defender, told jurors that Hancock is a sick man who has serious mental problems.
Meyers also blamed the murder in part on Warren County Correctional Institution guards failed to follow protocol before placing Wagner in Hancock's cell.
Meyers said Wagner was placed in Hancock's cell at the state prison on Ohio 63 east in Turtlecreek Twp. despite reports that Hancock was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, hates sex offenders and objected to Wagner being placed in his cell.
He said while Hancock, who is already serving life for a 1989 murder, deserves to be punished for killing Wagner, he doesn't deserve to die.
"There are options. You don't have to kill him,'' Meyers said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4542 or tlatta@coxohio.com.