Governor won’t seek to suspend Clayton sheriff
5:22 pm, January 3rd, 2013
Governor Nathan Deal said today his office will not seek to suspend indicted Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, who was elected last year and recently sworn in despite facing 32 felony charges including racketeering.
Deal said he decided not to appoint a panel to consider Hill’s suspension after careful evaluation of state law and the facts in the case. State law allows the governor to appoint a three-member panel to investigate indicted public officials.
A press release from Deal’s office said that he “concluded that the law outlining the procedures for the suspension of public officials under indictment applies only to officials indicted while holding their elected office.
Victor Hill was indicted on Feb. 29. 2012, at which time he was a private citizen and not an elected county officer. Therefore, state law prohibits the appointment of a suspension panel at this time.”
Hill won the Democratic primary runoff for the sheriff’s spot in August, beating incumbent Kem Kimbrough, who had beat Hill in 2008. Hill also won the November general election despite a campaign for a write-in candidate who was Kembrough’s chief deputy.
Contributor: Kathleen Baydala Joyner in Criminal Cases | subscribe to rss | 
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