Bio 

Steven Douglas Hill was born in 1966. By 1984, Hill was 18 years old and was already serving time in the Arkansas prison system. A Los Angeles Times report stated that he had been imprisoned for breaking and entering and criminal mischief before the events that led to the murder of Arkansas State Police investigator Robert Klein.

Hill was incarcerated at the Wrightsville Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction. On October 15, 1984, he and another inmate, Michael Anthony Cox, escaped from the facility. The Arkansas Supreme Court described the case as beginning with nine felony charges arising from the escape and the later events that unfolded over several hours in Pulaski County. Before trial, Hill pleaded guilty to several charges connected to the escape and related crimes, but he contested the capital murder of Robert Klein and the attempted capital murder of Lieutenant Conrad Pattillo.

Murder Story

On October 15, 1984, Steven Douglas Hill and Michael Anthony Cox escaped from the Wrightsville Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction. After dark, the two men arrived at the home of Merle and Billie Jo Rice in central Arkansas. Court records state that Hill and Cox robbed the Rices of money and weapons, including a 16-gauge shotgun, an automatic carbine, and a 20-gauge automatic shotgun. The Rices were tied up before Hill and Cox left the property in the Rices’ pickup truck at approximately 10:30 p.m.

After leaving the Rice home, Hill and Cox went to an unoccupied residence about two miles away. Police officers arrived after spotting the stolen pickup truck in the driveway. As Arkansas State Police investigator Robert Klein and Lieutenant Conrad Pattillo approached the garage area, Klein was shot and killed by a blast from a 20-gauge shotgun. Pattillo was also fired upon but was not injured. Several hours later, at approximately 4:30 a.m., officers used tear gas, and Hill and Cox surrendered.

The evidence described in the Eighth Circuit opinion placed Cox in the attic area before the shooting. The court record states that Cox did not see or participate in the shooting and that, after surrendering, he was found with an automatic carbine that had not been fired. The 20-gauge automatic shotgun, identified as the murder weapon, was found in the lower room where Hill had hidden behind a mattress. Hill and Cox were taken to police headquarters, advised of their Miranda rights, and gave videotaped statements. The court record states that Hill admitted using the 20-gauge shotgun to shoot Klein.

Hill was charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, escape, burglary, theft, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to all charges except capital murder and attempted capital murder. A jury found him guilty of both contested charges. On March 8, 1985, the jury imposed a death sentence for the capital murder conviction and a 50-year prison sentence for the attempted capital murder conviction.

After Hill’s conviction and sentence, Michael Cox later submitted a statement claiming that he, not Hill, had fired the fatal shot. Hill’s attorneys used that statement in an effort to seek further review. However, the federal district court rejected Cox’s later account after reviewing the trial record, the videotaped statements, and Cox’s testimony. The Eighth Circuit agreed with the district court and affirmed the denial of habeas relief.

Hill also challenged the admission of his videotaped confession, the jury’s handling of youth as a mitigating factor, aggravating-circumstance issues, the prosecutor’s shotgun demonstration during sentencing arguments, and ineffective-assistance claims. The courts rejected those challenges. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 1986, and later state and federal appeals did not overturn the conviction or death sentence.

In 1992, Hill sought clemency while Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton was running for president. Clinton denied clemency after reviewing the case materials, including Hill’s videotaped confession and clemency hearing records. The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court also refused to stop the execution.

Steven Douglas Hill was executed by lethal injection on May 7, 1992. The Arkansas Department of Corrections lists him as a white male, age 25, convicted of capital murder in Pulaski County and executed on that date. He was pronounced dead at 9:10 p.m. at Cummins state prison in southeast Arkansas.