Squabble over Danny Lee Hill audiotape goes to mediation

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – A disagreement over who should provide Danny Lee Hill’s defense an audiotape recording, which was part of his 1985 murder trial, made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court.

A complaint was filed Aug. 7 by the Federal Public Defender Northern District of Ohio against the Trumbull County prosecutor over a request for the tape dating back to 2022.

The public defender, Calland Ferraro, said she requested the tape three times from the prosecutor’s office but was unsuccessful in obtaining it. She said she was told by a court clerk that she needed to file a motion in court for the tape or call Chuck Morrow, who is the chief of the criminal division for the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office, for his copy of the tape.

Ferraro said Morrow told her she needed to get the tape from Hill’s former attorney, but she said that attempt was unsuccessful. Ferraro also added that Morrow told her he was “sick of providing discovery to a murderer who should be dead,” according to the complaint.

Ferraro filed a motion in Trumbull County Court for the tape, but the court has yet to rule on her motion. Ferraro then filed her complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court to compel the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office to turn over the cassette tape so that a copy can be made and has asked for a $100 a day penalty up to $1,000 for any delays.

The complaint said that Ferraro does have a transcription of the audiotape.

The Ohio Supreme Court has turned the issue over to mediation and stayed all filing deadlines.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said Tuesday he was pleased that the issue is going to mediation.

“However, I firmly believe that the action was unnecessary and could have been resolved at the local level… More importantly, our complete file, including a copy of this exhibit, was previously provided to the defendant as part of this office’s discovery prior to Hill’s trial, going back to 1985. Furthermore, the Federal Public Defender acknowledges that they have a transcript of the nearly forty-year-old cassette tape, which exhibit is actually in the possession of the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts, not the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office,” Watkins said in a prepared statement.

Watkins added that he hopes the matter will be resolved soon.

Danny Lee Hill was convicted in 1985 for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Raymond Fife. His conviction and death sentence have gone through multiple appeals. His execution date is set for July 22, 2026 , however, Ohio has a moratorium on executions over the inability to obtain lethal injection drugs.

Legislation is pending in Ohio to use nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution. The bill’s sponsors say they believe the legislation would survive any kind of constitutional challenge and has the support of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association. Watkins testified during hearings for the bill highlighting the Hill case and other local death penalty convictions.

Ohio currently has 120 inmates on death row.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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