Former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill has been ordered to report to an Arkansas prison in May to begin an 18-month sentence on his October conviction for violating the civil rights of detainees in his custody.
Hill must turn himself in to FCI Forrest City in Forrest City, Arkansas, by noon May 15, according to documents released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal bureau of prisons describes FCI Forrest City as “a low-security facility with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp.”
But Hill’s attorneys on Wednesday asked the federal court to allow the controversial lawman to remain free on bond pending an appeal they have filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
“If Mr. Hill is denied bond while his appeal is pending, he will almost certainly serve his entire sentence before the appeal is even resolved — which would work a manifest miscarriage of justice if the appeal comes out his way,” Hill’s lawyers wrote in their motion for Hill to remain free on bond. “For these reasons, Mr. Hill respectfully asks this Court to allow him to remain on bond while he litigates his appeal.”
Hill was convicted by a federal jury in October of violating the civil rights of six detainees in the Clayton County jail by ordering staff to strap them into restraint chairs as punishment, which is illegal. The chairs can only be used legally as a stopping the inmate from harming himself or others.
He was sentenced in March to 18 months by U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross.
“My sincerest prayer for you is that you would sit down for a moment and think about everything,” Ross said during the sentencing, noting that part of Hill’s issue is arrogance.
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