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More on Georgia's Indigent Defense System

By Steve Hall

Greg Bluestein files, "Ga.'s system to defend the poor still reeling," for AP, via Google News.Georgia's public defender system is still trying to recover its financial footing five years after a courthouse gunman racked up a $3 million taxpayer-funded defense tab on the way to his conviction.The state's ailing system to defend the poor has struggled almost since its start in 2005, hamstrung not just by the costly Brian Nichols case but also because of the lukewarm support from legislators and a dismal economy.The state now can't afford to pay to defend the accused in several capital punishment cases, leaving them waiting in jail for years before their trials start. Some, like Khan Dinh Phan, have appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court for help...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on March 11, 2010 (boomark / email).