Bio

Jeffrey D. Hill was born on April 7, 1964, in Ohio. He grew up in Cincinnati with his mother, Emma Dee Hill, and his brother. His father left the family when Hill was young, and his grandfather, who served as a father figure, died when Hill was around ten years old.

Hill later dropped out of school after the ninth grade, reportedly to help care for his mother after she was partially paralyzed by a stroke. As a teenager, he began getting into legal trouble, including juvenile offenses for aggravated robbery and assault.

As an adult, Hill had minor theft, drug, and weapon-related cases. He also had a family of his own. His life became more unstable after his father died of cancer in 1990, after which Hill developed a crack cocaine addiction. His addiction became a major factor in the events leading to the death of his mother in 1991.

Murder Story

On March 23, 1991, Jeffrey Hill went to his mother Emma Dee Hill’s apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had been using crack cocaine, and he and his mother argued about how often he visited her. During the argument, Hill stabbed her ten times in the chest and back.

After the stabbing, he stole $20 from his mother and left in her car to buy more crack cocaine. He later returned to the apartment, smoked crack in the bathroom, and stole another $80. Three days later, Hill surrendered to police and confessed.

Hill was convicted and sentenced to death on June 19, 1992. His execution was scheduled for March 3, 2009, but the Ohio Parole Board unanimously recommended clemency. The board cited his genuine remorse, the opposition of Emma Hill’s family to the execution, concerns about the defense presented at trial, and the proportionality of the death sentence compared with similar cases. Governor Ted Strickland granted clemency on February 12, 2009, commuting the sentence to 25 years to life.

Hill became parole-eligible in 2017 and was released on parole on September 1, 2020, after the Ohio parole board granted early release.