Baltimore County Circuit Judge Stacy Mayer issued a decisive denial of convicted serial rapist Alphonso Hill’s efforts to shorten his combined 105-year prison sentence.

The 73-year-old is serving over a century in prison for multiple rapes: Laura Neuman in 1983 in Baltimore, Valerie Pieroni and seven other women in Baltimore County from the late 1970s through 1989, and a 14-year-old girl.

“It feels like the tiniest bit of justice,” said Neuman, who found out about Mayer’s ruling 42 years — to the day — after Hill raped her.

The former Anne Arundel County executive has been public about her experience to help other women and keep Hill in jail.

“He is a danger to our community,” Neuman said.

Hill’s attorney, Mary Lloyd Patton, argued in the Baltimore County Circuit Court earlier this month that Hill’s rights were violated during a March 2010 sentencing.

As a result, Patton said, Hill should be able to reduce the 30-year sentence he received after pleading guilty to stuffing a rag in the 14-year-old girl’s mouth and raping her at knifepoint.

Mayer wrote that Patton did not prove either of her two arguments: that “extraordinary circumstances” allow Hill to file for post-conviction relief past a 10-year deadline and that Hill’s previous defense attorney ignored his requests to modify his sentence.

In her ruling, the judge said she determined that Hill’s testimony was full of “contradictions, memory lapses, and inconsistencies.”

Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger said he was pleased with Mayer’s decision and called several survivors of Hill’s crimes, including Neuman, to inform them of the news.

“Hopefully this is will ensure that he stays in jail for the rest of his life,” Shellenberger said.

What did the judge say?

In Maryland, defendants have 10 years — the state’s statute of limitations — to file a petition for post-conviction relief, a procedure to challenge the legality of imprisonment after a trial.

Patton argued that Hill’s attorney during his March 2010 sentencing should have informed the convicted rapist that he could file for post-conviction relief.

Mayer said there is no legal requirement in state or federal law that requires that an attorney advise their client of this right.

“It would be even more unusual for the attorney to do immediately following a guilty plea,” she wrote. “The Court has never seen it done.”

While Patton is required to prove both arguments to move Hill’s request forward, and Mayer dismissed the first, the judge also dismissed the second argument — that his previous defense attorney was ineffective.

Mayer said Hill, who testified on the stand, was an unreliable narrator.

“He was unable to recall what he said. He repeatedly looked to his attorney before responding to questions, as if searching for answers,” she wrote. “He appeared confused. He admitted that he was confused.”

Can Hill appeal?

After the initial hearing, Patton told The Banner she would appeal Mayer’s decision if the judge did not find that Hill’s rights were violated.

Patton, who specializes in criminal appeals and post-conviction proceedings, did not respond immediately Wednesday to a request for comment.

Shellenberger explained that if Patton files an appeal on Hill’s behalf, the case will move to the Appellate Court of Maryland, where three judges will determine whether the appeal has merit.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they took an appeal,” the state’s attorney said. “It’s a fairly easy process, but not one that we would think would go anywhere after [Mayer’s] opinion.”

In addition to appealing his sentence in court, Hill has an initial parole hearing scheduled in December 2027, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Keith Martucci, a spokesperson for the department, explained that while a parole board still would have to decide to release Hill, the 73-year-old is eligible and could be out of prison as soon as June 2028.

That’s because Hill has served the mandatory minimum number of years, which is one-quarter of a total sentence for all crimes committed before 1994, Martucci said.

That means — despite Mayer’s decision to dismiss Hill’s fight in court — the convicted rapist still could be freed in a few years.

Neuman, who received a letter about Hill’s parole hearing, said she will continue to fight to keep him behind bars.

“I will be there,” she said. “I will there every time.”