COLUMBUS — Two former Toledo men convicted of murdering a man in 1993 by burying him alive now face death themselves two months apart in four years.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday set March 20 and May 29, 2019, for the executions of Archie J. Dixon, 42, and Timothy Hoffner, 43, respectively. They were convicted of taking Christopher Hammer, 22, to a wooded area in Sylvania Township and, after letting him smoke a cigarette and say a prayer, buried him alive in a shallow grave.
Hoffner later led police to Mr. Hammer’s body. In addition to murder, they were convicted of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and forgery. Both are on death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution.
Kristen Wilkerson, Dixon’s girlfriend, was convicted of kidnapping but was released from prison after she cooperated with police.
The state added five inmates on Monday to the 16 in line for execution at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. The line extends well into 2019. The Ohio Supreme Court has continued to set dates at roughly two months apart even though Gov. John Kasich has issued a moratorium on executions. He issued his directive because of problems with the state obtaining the drugs need to execute prisoners and because of federal litigation over Ohio’s death-penalty process.
Justice William O’Neill, the sole Democrat, cast the one no vote to set these executions.
Both Dixon and Hoffner are parties to a challenge to Ohio’s death-penalty process that is pending before U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost.
“No one can predict what’s going to happen legislatively in the next few years, but as of now I know of nothing other than the Frost litigation that would change the date,” said Hoffner’s Cleveland attorney, David Doughten.
Dixon’s Cleveland attorney, Michael Benza, declined to comment.
Jeff Lingo, chief of the criminal division for the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, said requesting execution dates was procedure.
“In this case, the defendants were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death,” he said. “It has been a lengthy process. They have exhausted their appeals, and the time has come for them to face the penalty imposed by the court.”
A representative of the prosecutor’s victim assistance division contacted a family member of Mr. Hammer, but he declined comment.
Ohio’s last execution was in January, 2014, when a new mix of drugs was used. Witnesses had said Dennis McGuire of Montgomery County struggled against his restraints and made choking sounds as the drugs began to flow.
The state reverted to a single-drug method, either the powerful sedative pentobarbital or the short-acting barbiturate thiopental sodium, but it remains to be seen when that process will be used.
The state struggles to buy either drug because foreign manufacturers have objected to their use. Efforts to offer legal incentives for compounding pharmacies to re-create the drugs have not paid off.
The next execution of Ronald Phillips of Summit County is set for Jan. 21.
Staff writer Jennifer Feehan contributed to this report.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
First Published June 9, 2015, 4:00 a.m.