Death Penalty Removed in Rodney Hinton Jr. Case Over Deputy’s Death
The judge accepted findings that his mental illness qualifies under Ohio’s bar on capital punishment.
Overview
- Judge Jody M. Luebbers ruled there is sufficient evidence that Rodney Hinton Jr. has a serious mental illness, which makes a death sentence impermissible under Ohio law.
- A court-appointed forensic psychologist said she believes Hinton has bipolar disorder, and multiple evaluations were cited in the court’s finding.
- Prosecutors had already withdrawn their pursuit of capital punishment after reviewing the evaluations, noting the victim’s family understood the rationale though did not fully agree.
- Hinton changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, and the same three doctors will conduct additional evaluations ahead of trial.
- The case remains set for trial on April 6, with Hinton accused of intentionally striking Deputy Larry Henderson during a traffic detail; he remains jailed and also faces an allegation of assaulting a corrections officer.