Hill v. State
120 So. 3d 401
Miss.2013Background
- Billy Dale Hill was convicted of capital murder and rape in 1974, conviction later vacated; on remand he pled guilty to separate murder and rape counts and received consecutive life terms.
- In 2011 this Court vacated Hill’s life sentence for rape and allowed Hill to seek DNA testing of existing biological evidence; Hill specifically identified a 1974 laboratory slide that Dr. Van Philpot testified contained sperm cells.
- Hill filed a motion in Calhoun County Circuit Court for DNA testing; at an evidentiary hearing the court found no DNA evidence existed for testing and concluded the slide was not in the court’s possession.
- The circuit clerk testified she never saw the slide, photographed and documented trial exhibits before destruction, and that empty exhibit envelopes remained in the file; the court had destroyed some exhibits without giving statutory notice but did not have the slide.
- Hill argued the court destroyed the slide without the notice required by Miss. Code Ann. § 99-49-1, violating due process and entitling him to sanctions/remedies; the trial court’s factual finding that the court never possessed the slide was unchallenged below.
- The Supreme Court affirmed, holding there was no evidence the court possessed or destroyed the slide, and therefore no relief under the DNA Preservation Act was warranted, while emphasizing the statute’s preservation and notice requirements for future compliance.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the circuit court destroyed a lab slide containing sperm without statutory notice | Hill: the court destroyed the slide without giving required notice under § 99‑49‑1(3)(f)(ii) | State/Court: the slide was never in court custody and thus could not have been destroyed by the court | Held: Trial court’s factual finding that it did not possess the slide is not clearly erroneous; no destruction by court proven |
| Whether statutory notice violation entitles Hill to sanctions/remedies | Hill: violation of DNA Preservation Act warrants sanctions/remedies under § 99‑49‑1(5) | State: absent proof the court destroyed the evidence, no basis for sanctions | Held: No relief because requisite predicate (destruction by state entity) was not shown |
| Whether trial record supports existence/possession of the slide | Hill: transcript shows pathologist collected and viewed a slide containing sperm | State: trial transcript only references an autopsy summary; the slide was never admitted or marked as exhibit | Held: Record does not show slide was admitted or retained by court |
| Standard of review for factual findings on PCR motion | Hill: (implied) challenges factual finding | State: factual findings reviewed for clear error; legal issues de novo | Held: Applied clear-error review to factual findings; no clear error in finding the slide wasn’t in court custody |
Key Cases Cited
- Hill v. State, 339 So.2d 1382 (Miss. 1976) (prior appeal reversing Hill’s capital-murder conviction)
- Hill v. State, 388 So.2d 143 (Miss. 1980) (on remand Hill pled guilty and received consecutive life terms)
- Luckett v. State, 582 So.2d 428 (Miss. 1991) (guidance on resentencing to a definite term less than life)
- Presley v. State, 48 So.3d 526 (Miss. 2010) (standard of review for factual findings in post-conviction matters)
- Brown v. State, 731 So.2d 595 (Miss. 1999) (authority cited on appellate review standards)