In a trial held in July and August of 1991, Warren Lee Hill was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Joseph Handspike. This Court unanimously affirmed the conviction and death sentence in March of 1993. Hill v. State , 263 Ga. 37 427 SE2d 770 1993. Hill filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus on April 14, 1994, alleging that he was mentally retarded. The habeas court, erroneously invoking the procedure set forth in Fleming v. Zant , 259 Ga. 687 386 SE2d 339 1989, granted a limited writ ordering a jury trial in the original trial court on the question of mental retardation, with Hill bearing the burden of proof under the “preponderance of the evidence” standard. This Court reversed, holding that, although he could pursue relief under the “miscarriage of justice” provision of the habeas corpus statute by attempting to prove to the habeas court itself under the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that he was mentally retarded, Hill was not entitled to a jury trial under the preponderance of the evidence standard because he had been tried after the effective date of the statute providing defendants the opportunity to prove their mental retardation at trial. Turpin v. Hill , 269 Ga. 302 498 SE2d 52 1998.
The habeas court found on remand, in an order filed on May 16, 2002, that Hill succeeded in proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he had significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, but the habeas court further found that Hill failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of impairments in adaptive behavior. Consequently, the habeas court concluded that Hill had failed to prove his alleged mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt. See OCGA § 17-7-131 a 3 defining mental retardation. On September 20, 2002, the habeas court filed a supplemental order, upon the Warden’s motion, denying Hill’s remaining claims. On November 22, 2002, the habeas court granted a motion for reconsideration filed by Hill and once again granted a limited writ ordering a jury trial on the issue of mental retardation, with Hill bearing the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
