Suit Filed Over Lack of Death Penalty Representation in Georgia
While some Georgia politicians are unhappy that the state's jurors don't return a verdict of death in every capital trial, the state's legislators remain unwilling to fund an adequate defense in death penalty cases. The result may be tragic for Jamie Weis, who -- despite being charged with a capital crime -- has gone eight months without representation because Georgia doesn't want to pay for his defense.
The two lawyers initially appointed to represent Weis withdrew when they discovered that the state's public defender system didn't have money to pay them. Staff attorneys who were appointed in their stead also withdrew, citing a lack of time and resources to give Weis the adequate defense that is his constitutional right. The initial lawyers were reappointed with the agreement that the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council would sign a contract authorizing their payment. Weis has now filed suit, contending that the contract was never signed and that he therefore has no counsel working on his behalf.
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In the meantime, prosecutors have the enormous advantage of working to build a case against Weis while he has no lawyers, no investigators, and no other professionals working to counter the state's evidence or to find mitigating evidence to present on his behalf.
James E. Coleman Jr., an expert in criminal law at Duke Law School, who is not involved in the suit, said the absence of a defense lawyer for any period of time created an unfair advantage for prosecutors. Defense investigations should begin immediately after a suspect’s arrest, Professor Coleman said, so witnesses’ memories do not fade and evidence does not disappear.“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “I think the state has violated this man’s constitutional rights and undermined his chances of receiving a fair trial.”
There's not much doubt that Weis' ability to have a fair trial has been compromised by the delay in mounting a defense. Does Georgia's legislature care? Apparently not.
Robert Blecker, a professor at New York Law School who supports the death penalty, said the lawsuit raised worrisome questions about the fairness of Mr. Weis’s trial.“When it comes to the death penalty, money should never be the issue,” Professor Blecker said. “In this story, money seems to have become the issue, and that’s what’s so troubling.”
The prosecutors in Weis' case should take the death penalty off the table. More importantly, Georgia should stop seeking the death penalty if it is only willing to fund the prosecution but not the defense.
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