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Hill sentenced to death

Web posted February 15, 2000

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 David Mark Hill's statement to jurors
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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN -- Teary-eyed jurors passed around a tissue box Monday afternoon as a judge read their decision sentencing David Mark Hill to death for the worst act of violence in a Department of Social Services office in South Carolina history.

About the only person who didn't show emotion in a somber courtroom was the killer, who told jurors before their deliberations that he regretted his actions but was incapable of showing emotion.

``I was not aware how much damage I caused until I heard some of the witnesses' testimony here, and I was moved and saddened by it even though I can't show it on my face because of the brain damage I did to myself,'' Mr. Hill said, reciting a handwritten note that served as his only statement throughout the trial.

David Mark Hill's statement: David Mark Hill read the following one-page statement to jurors before they began deliberations: ``I was asked if I would like to make a statement to the jury during the penalty phase of this trial and I said I would. ``I would like to start by expressing my deep regret for what I did and take this opportunity to tell the people I hurt especially the victims' families and to tell them I'm truly sorry. I was at a point in my life when things around me got so bad I just snapped and I know I should have never done what I did. ``I would also like them to forgive me. I was not aware how much damage I caused until I heard some of the witnesses testimony here and I was moved and saddened by it even if though I can't show it on my face because of the brain damage I did to myself. ``You have heard from the doctors that I don't show emotions outwardly anymore and I wanted to make sure everyone knows I am truly saddened for the pain I have caused everyone, especially the victims' families. ``Thank you.''

His regret was not enough.

After a little more than three hours of deliberations, the jury returned a decision of death. Circuit Judge Marc Westbrook warned the courtroom not to show any reaction and then read aloud the verdicts: three death sentences for the murders of Michael Gregory, Jimmy Riddle and Josie Curry. The judge also sentenced Mr. Hill to life in prison for an attempted murder conviction and 66 years in prison for seven related felonies.

Mr. Hill, 39, walked through the Department of Social Services office in North Augusta on Sept. 16, 1996, shooting three caseworkers in the head because he was upset the agency had taken custody of his children. Police found Mr. Hill a day later on railroad tracks near the office with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On Monday, as a courtroom clerk questioned each jury individually, six of seven female jurors began crying, clearly shaken by the weight of their decision.

After a crowd of bailiffs escorted Mr. Hill away, family members of the victims embraced. Solicitor Barbara Morgan later took them to speak with jurors, where they thanked the panel for their work.

The jurors were picked in York County and transported to Aiken to avoid any prejudice from pretrial publicity.

Lois Riddle, mother of Mr. Riddle, was the only person to speak to the media.

``I think the solicitor did a good job, and I'm satisfied with it. I'm glad it's all over,'' she said. ``It's been hard.''

Other family members released a prewritten statement.

``We take no pleasure in seeing a life taken or spent in prison. Whatever Mr. Hill's fate, it won't bring back the husbands or wife we love; the precious mother, fathers, daughter and sons that he took from us. Our only interest is to honor them by seeking justice, and to perhaps discourage the loss of loved ones for other families,'' read the statement from the families of Mr. Gregory and Mr. Riddle.

Relatives of Ms. Curry did not attend the trial, but her husband, James Curry, said he agreed with other family members, finding no pleasure in sending a man to death row.

In closing arguments Monday morning, defense attorneys asked the jury for a life sentence.

Attorneys Robert Harte and Jeff Bloom asked the jury to show mercy to a man whose life turned into a downward spiral after several traumatic events. Those events -- the crippling of his daughter in a 1995 accident and a workplace explosion that injured his back and gave him nightmares -- took a toll on Mr. Hill and made him suicidal, Mr. Bloom said.

It was at that point when the Department of Social Services, investigating child neglect and an unstable father, took away the only thing that mattered in his life: his children.

``He snapped. He cracked,'' Mr. Bloom said. ``That's not an excuse. That's not a defense. But it's a reason.''

Life imprisonment would be a harsh enough punishment for Mr. Hill, the attorney said.

``The state wants you to believe that life without parole means David Hill will have a grand old time. He'll never get out of prison,'' Mr. Bloom said.

Attacking the race issue headon in his remarks, Mr. Harte told jurors to discount evidence by a police officer that Mr. Hill confessed to killing Ms. Curry because she was black. He said the statements were unreliable because Mr. Hill was suffering from a bullet wound to his head when he made them.

``If David Hill was a racist, would he have had a black psychiatrist for 18 months?'' Mr. Harte asked. ``This isn't about race, and it's not about hate. It's about David Hill's mind.''

Psychiatrists had testified that Mr. Hill, heavily-medicated for severe depression, was suffering from three mental illnesses on the day of the killings. The doctors testified that the defendant lacked the mental capacity to appreciate the criminality of his actions.

During her closing remarks, Ms. Morgan asked the jury to consider the hate-filled nature of Mr. Hill, describing how he chose to hide a silver pistol on the morning of the killing, requested a ride from relatives to the DSS office, shot the victims and then walked away casually.

``When he executed Josie Curry, he just let her stand there with terror,'' Ms. Morgan said. ``David Mark Hill didn't show anyone else mercy. I submit to you that when he saw someone shaking, he didn't show mercy.''

Mr. Hill will be transported to death row at Lieber Correctional Institute in Ridgeville. Attorneys are expected to appeal the verdict within 10 days.

Judge Westbrook set a March 16 execution date, which will be continually postponed as the appeals process runs its course.

But some victims feel the trial's conclusion won't stop their pain.

Annette Michael and Wanda Gamache, DSS caseworkers who witnessed the workplace violence firsthand in 1996, released a statement Monday night describing the killings' long-term effects.

``Our involvement in this tragedy has left us forever altered,'' the pair wrote. ``The end of the trial does not mark the end of the ordeal.''

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.