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The Virginia Pilot Examination of Capital Costs

By Steve Hall

"Virginia's budget woes slow down capital case," is the title of Shawn Day's report.  It appeared in the Monday edition.In the 18 months since he took the helm of the Richmond area capital defender?s office, David Baugh said he has seen about 10 capital cases end in pleas after prosecutors pulled the death penalty off the table.  The result? Life in prison for the defendants and likely a  savings to Virginia?s taxpayers, who won?t have to foot the bill for defense fees associated with lengthy trials and years of appeals, Baugh said. With a $3.5 billion budget shortfall, the state has to make some tough decisions on using manpower and money to prosecute the capital cases, he said. Three out of four state capital defender offices are understaffed...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on December 11, 2009 (boomark / email).