Page:Tim Shoop, Warden v. Danny Hill.pdf/2

2 that we will not describe. He died two days later.

In 1986, respondent Danny Hill was convicted for torturing, raping, and murdering Raymond, and he was sentenced to death. An intermediate appellate court affirmed his conviction and sentence, as did the Ohio Supreme Court. We denied certiorari. Hill v. Ohio, 507 U. S. 1007 (1993).

After unsuccessful efforts to obtain postconviction relief in state and federal court, Hill filed a new petition in the Ohio courts contending that his death sentence is illegal under Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U. S. 304 (2002), which held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of a death sentence on a defendant who is “mentally retarded.” In 2006, the Ohio trial court denied this claim, App. to Pet. for Cert. 381a–493a, and in 2008, the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed, State v. Hill, 177 Ohio App. 3d 171, 2008-Ohio-3509, 894 N. E. 2d 108. In 2009, the Ohio Supreme Court denied review. State v. Hill, 122 Ohio St. 3d 1502, 2009-Ohio-4233, 912 N. E. 2d 107.

In 2010, Hill filed a new federal habeas petition under 28 U. S. C. §2254, seeking review of the denial of his Atkins claim. The District Court denied the petition, App. to Pet. for Cert. 77a–210a, but the Sixth Circuit reversed and granted habeas relief under §2254(d)(1), which applies when a state-court adjudication “resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” See Hill v. Anderson, 881 F. 3d 483 (2018). The Sixth Circuit found two alleged deficiencies in the Ohio courts’ decisions: First, they “overemphasized Hill’s adaptive strengths”; and second, they “relied too heavily on adaptive strengths that Hill exhibited in the controlled environment of his death-row prison cell.” Id., at 492. In reaching these conclusions, the court relied repeatedly on our decision in Moore v. Texas, 581 U. S. ___. See 881 F. 3d, at 486, 487, 488,