Rodney Hinton Jr. is accused by prosecutors of intentionally killing a Cincinnati sheriff’s deputy in revenge for the fatal police shooting of his teen son. Though it seems like the odds are stacked against him, his attorneys argue that his mental condition absolves him from being labeled a “cop killer.”
Hinton, 38, waived his right to a probable cause hearing and entered a not guilty plea to aggravated murder in the hit-and-run killing of Hamilton County Deputy Sheriff Larry Henderson. Authorities say he drove his vehicle into an intersection, striking the deputy who died later in the hospital. The morning of the incident, Hinton had just viewed the body camera footage related to the fatal shooting of his 18-year-old son, Ryan, who was killed by deputies.
“He couldn’t finish watching the video. It was very difficult to watch for the family,” said Cochran Law Firm attorney Michael Wright, via the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Prosecutors said Hinton’s current state is a “giant mental health question mark,” arguing that he poses a danger to the public. Hinton’s attorneys also said his mental health is a concern but on a more sympathetic note, per FOX19 News. In body camera footage of his arrest, Hinton shrugged at questions of whether he needed mental health assistance. Though, his attorneys argue that he desperately needs treatment.
Will the mental health argument stand? Former prosecutor and civil rights attorney Chance D. Lynch thinks so. He says the only angle at this point is to argue that Hinton wasn’t in his right mind at the time of the incident.
“I think that’s going to be a big defense for him that will probably save [the case] from being a capital case. If I was his lawyer, I would get my client evaluated and talk about the effects of PTSD.”
In fact, Lynch says statistics and studies show that “he could legitimately be incapacitated and considered incompetent because of him observing his son [on body camera]. He was under the control of that.”
Lynch added that other mitigating factors could be presented in court to favor a lighter sentence or possibly psychiatric hospitalization, in the case he’s convicted. As of now, Hinton is not receiving any mental treatment at Clermont County Jail, his attorney said this week, via FOX19.