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Georgia still struggling to pay for death penalty cases old and new

By Douglas A. Berman

This notable AP report, which is headlined "Georgia public defender system still reeling from Nichols case," highlights the high and tangible costs of (poorly?) administering the death penalty: 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...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 14, 2010 (boomark / email).