Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upholds conviction in murder-for-hire case

Montgomery, AL – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Appeals has affirmed the murder-for-hire conviction of Jason Christopher Hill, 48, of Ellabell, Georgia. Hill was found guilty in Mobile County Circuit Court on September 1, 2023 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Hill's conviction stems from the December 6, 2020 murder of Brent Allen in Satsuma, Alabama. According to trial evidence, Hill believed that Allen had raped his wife when she was thirteen years old. Based on this belief, Hill hired a private detective to search for Allen and then hired his uncle to carry out the murder. Hill provided the hitman with a silenced rifle, ammunition, masks and a bulletproof vest. Allen was shot outside his home and investigators solved the case within ten days.

Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood's office successfully prosecuted the case and secured a guilty verdict. Hill appealed the verdict and sought to have the verdict overturned, but the Attorney General's Appellate Division defended the verdict. On September 20, 2024, the Alabama Court of Appeals affirmed Hill's conviction.

Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Christopher D. Howell for his work on the appeal and thanked District Attorney Keith Blackwood and his team for their efforts in prosecuting and defending the case.