Release Eddie Hill from a life sentence he does not deserve!

A CASE OF GROSS INJUSTICE - Eddie Hill did not kill anyone or want to kill anyone, yet he has served 27 years toward a life sentence in an Ohio prison. The injustice of this was plain to Donald “Duke” Palmer, the man who actually killed both victims for whom Eddie was sentenced. Unfortunately, “Duke” can’t talk. He was executed in 2012 for these crimes.

When his execution date was ultimately scheduled, he finally presented the testimony which he had withheld from the jurors at Eddie’s trial: Eddie was completely uninvolved in the double killings until after Palmer shot and killed both men. (See his Declaration here: http://email9869.wix.com/declaration)

With the benefit of Duke’s notarized statement exonerating Eddie from actual participation in the killings, his attorney, Barry Wilford, applied for clemency in 2012. Incredibly, the Ohio Parole Board recommended against clemency, and Governor John Kasich denied the application in March, 2014. Wilford will file another application for clemency in Eddie’s behalf in 2016. “The interests of justice demand that this miscarriage be corrected,” Wilford stated, “and that Eddie Hill be released from a life sentence which he did not earn or deserve.”

MEET EDDIE HILL - Eddie was 15 when he first met Duke. They were the same age and became fast friends. Then in 1983, Duke and Eddie's sister were married and had two children. A couple of years later, they divorced, and Eddie lost track of Duke for several years.

In 1989, when Eddie was 23, Duke popped up, but he wasn't the same Duke. He had become addicted to alcohol and cocaine. This re-acquaintance with him led to the disastrous outcome described above.

In spite of this, Eddie, now 50, has done well even in prison. He leads a clean and decent life, staying well out of trouble, and he is respected by staff and inmates alike. He has become an accomplished musician and musical teacher, whose band has played for functions at the prison for nearly 25 years, and he's the president of the music program.

What is even more amazing is that Eddie has become one of the most gifted dog trainers that Karen Shirk and Jeremy Dulebohn have ever seen! They are the founding director and training director respectively of 4Paws for Ability, an international, non-profit dog-training organization for the handicapped. “We’d hire him tomorrow,” Shirk says. “Our policy is not to hire felons, but for Eddie we keep writing to the parole board and the governor. He is something special.” Eddie has been with 4Paws for 14 years now and has moved on to doing advanced service training, such as teaching dogs to turn on lights and open doors.

Prison wardens and guards privately consult with him about their own pets. Eddie has kept a detailed journal of his dogs. “...every dog has given me back everything I’ve put into them tenfold,” he says. “I wish I’d known about this before I ended up in here. If I ever get out, it’s what I want to do, but I’m not up for parole until 2049.” Eddie will be 83 in 2049.

Learn more about Eddie Hill - "Meet the Prisoner With a Gift for Healing Dogs - Sixty dogs changed one man's life as much as he changed theirs." by Melissa Fay Greene -Reader's Digest Magazine, March 2014 - http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/prisoner-gift-wonder-dog/