The mental health of the man accused of killing a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy in May has become a central issue in the case.
At a hearing Dec. 10 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, it was revealed that 39-year-old Rodney Hinton Jr. was hospitalized two years before the killing and treated with antipsychotic medication.
That treatment ended in May 2024, one year before prosecutors say Hinton intentionally drove a car into Deputy Larry Henderson. Hinton is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes, and is facing a possible death sentence.
Among Hinton’s symptoms in 2023, according to testimony: He had auditory hallucinations and heard voices on television talking to him.
Hinton’s attorneys are pursuing two issues. They are seeking to have Hinton ruled ineligible for the death penalty because he has a serious mental illness. And they are asking Judge Jody Luebbers to allow Hinton to use a not guilty by reason of insanity defense at trial.
The serious mental illness issue was addressed at the Dec. 10 hearing, although a final decision won’t be made until Jan. 5 at the earliest, when two additional experts are expected to testify.
Death penalty in question
Forensic psychologist Jennifer O’Donnell testified on Dec. 10 that she diagnosed Hinton with bipolar disorder with psychotic features. His mental illness, O’Donnell said, “significantly impaired his ability to exercise rational judgment” on the day of the killing.
Bipolar disorder is one of four qualifying mental conditions that under a state law enacted in 2021 make someone ineligible for the death penalty.
Hours before the May 2 killing, Hinton and his family met with Cincinnati police to review body camera video of his 18-year-old son, Ryan, being fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer.
Hinton was described by family members as being extremely emotionally distraught that day, and they “were concerned about his thinking and his actions,” according to a report described by one of Hinton’s attorneys, Clyde Bennett II.
Later, under questioning from prosecutors, O’Donnell said that Hinton’s “emotional instability under the extreme stress he was under created significant impairment such that his judgment fell apart.”
The previous day, after Hinton found out his son had been killed, he went into the basement of his home and was sobbing and crying, according to testimony.
A decision about whether Hinton can use a not guilty by reason of insanity defense at trial is expected to be made after Jan. 5.
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