District Attorney C. Colon Willoughby, who is running for re-election this year, is again prosecuting Mays, and he said his case will be much the same as in the 1st trial. The defense also argued that Mays suffers from brain damage brought on by years of heavy marijuana use. But prosecution witnesses said Mays saw Hale approaching his car and mentioned to his companions that Hale was a cop. For the past 2 weeks, Gaskins and Hurley have been arguing in state and federal court that a second trial would put Mays in double jeopardy. But the state Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., rejected the defense claim and refused to stop the retrial.
Jury selection is likely to take at least a week.
Many people believe that a life sentence, rather than a death sentence, is the appropriate punishment for Zane Hill and are calling on Gov. Jim Hunt to grant executive clemency. No one is suggesting that Hill does not deserve a life sentence for his crime. He was a binge alcoholic who had abused his wife and children prior to killing his son. Many say he was a good man when sober. Alcohol is no excuse for violence, though, and especially not for Randy Hill's death nor the assault on Bonnie Hill, Zane Hill's wife, that same day.