[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., LA., TENN.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 16



TEXAS----impending execution

Attorneys for a Texas inmate facing execution for the shotgun slaying of a 
suburban Dallas liquor store clerk say no late appeals are planned


No late appeals are planned for a Texas inmate facing execution for the shotgun 
slaying of a suburban Dallas liquor store clerk, his attorneys said.

Gustavo Garcia's lethal injection scheduled for Tuesday evening would be the 
3rd this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any 
other state. Garcia, 43, was sentenced to death for the fatal 1990 shooting of 
Craig Turski during a robbery.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a clemency petition and a 
federal judge considering an appeal Friday refused to halt the execution. The 
U.S. Supreme Court last month refused to review an appeal that challenged the 
competency of Garcia's earlier legal help. Then last week, the high court 
turned down a request for a rehearing on that ruling.

Seth Kretzer, one of Garcia's lawyers, said Monday he anticipated no last-day 
appeals to the courts.

Garcia spent more than half of his life on death row for the killing of Turski, 
a cashier at a Plano liquor store. Garcia was 18 at the time of the slaying, 
which was 1 of 2 tied to him and 15-year-old Christopher Vargas.

Vargas was tried and convicted as an adult and given a life sentence, but his 
age made him ineligible for the death penalty.

Court documents show Garcia shot Turski in the abdomen on Dec. 9, 1990, then 
reloaded and shot the 43-year-old man in the back of the head. A month later, 
Garcia and Vargas entered a Plano convenience store armed with a sawed-off 
shotgun and carried out a holdup in which another clerk, 18-year-old Gregory 
Martin, was fatally shot in the head.

Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend just before the shooting and told 
her to call police. Officers arrived and found Vargas standing over Martin's 
body and Garcia hiding in a beer cooler with the shotgun nearby. Authorities 
later determined the weapon was the same one used in Turski's death.

In a statement to police after his arrest for Martin's killing, Garcia said 
he'd ordered Turski to his knees and then a customer entered the store.

"I then panicked," he said. "I shot the clerk with the shotgun."

On Thanksgiving night in 1998, Garcia and 5 other death row inmates were 
scaling a pair of 10-foot-high prison fences when corrections officers opened 
fire on them and they surrendered. A 7th death row prisoner, Martin Gurule, was 
shot but managed to flee, making him the 1st inmate to escape Texas death row 
since a Bonnie and Clyde gang member broke out in 1934. Gurule's body was found 
about a week later in a creek a few miles from the prison. An autopsy showed he 
drowned.

"At least I can say I tried," Garcia said of the escape attempt in a 1999 
interview with The Associated Press. "Facing execution is scarier."

He declined an interview request as his execution date neared.

Garcia's death sentence was overturned in 2000 on appeal. A year later, he was 
returned to death row after a 2nd punishment trial.

At least 9 other Texas inmates have execution dates set for the coming months, 
including 3 in March.

(source: Associated Press)

**************

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----15

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----533

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

16---------February 16--------------Gustavo Garcia--------534

17---------March 9------------------Coy Wesbrook----------535

18---------March 22-----------------Adam Ward-------------536

19---------March 30-----------------John Battaglia--------537

20---------April 6------------------Pablo Vasquez---------538

21---------April 27-----------------Robert Pruett---------539

22---------May 11-------------------Terry Edwards---------540

23---------June 2-------------------Charles Flores--------541

24---------July 14------------------Perry Williams--------542

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)

***************

BBC Three's Life and Death Row: Meet the Texas prisoner who wants to die


This is Daniel Lopez, a 27-year-old on death row in Texas, USA. He wants to be 
executed by lethal injection.

His own legal team is arguing for him not to die, worried that he's mentally 
unstable and using the justice system as a form of suicide. But he's having 
none of it.

He's been waiting more than 6 years on death row and is determined to get it 
over with as soon as possible.

"The victim's family want me dead," he says.

"Their closure's going to be when I'm dead. My family, it hurts them to see me 
here day in and day out. When am I going to get executed? This month, next 
month, next year?

"I want them to move on."

You can watch the first episode on BBC Three's iPlayer channel.

Series 2 of Life and Death Row

His chilling approach to his own execution is captured on film as he's 
interviewed from inside prison for BBC Three's new Life and Death Row season.

In March 2009 Lopez was being chased by police.

1 officer was ahead of him on the highway preparing to stop his car with a line 
of spikes, to puncture his tyres.

Lopez spotted him, drove at him and ran him over - killing Lt. Stuart 
Alexander.

The documentary also has full access to the policeman's widow, Vicky Alexander.

A society needs rules, they need laws ... I mean this is someone who took 
someone else's life, so they have a total disregard for another human being's 
life, you can't have people like that walking the streets

As the time ticks down to Lopez's execution day she becomes increasingly 
anxious that the prisoner will suddenly change his mind. "I have nightmares now 
that we're gonna get there and he still has the right, right up to the last 
second, to say, 'No, I want my appeals.' Maybe that's what he has planned?"

'That's the penalty he has to pay for what he did'

It's unusual for someone on death row to not make any attempt to stop their 
execution.

Mrs Alexander says: "At least I'll know that he can't hurt anybody any more and 
that's what my husband would want too."

She's a former nurse who cries as she explains how she's spent so much time 
trying to save lives.

Now she's going to be a witness, observing from a side room, as life is taken 
away.

"I've been through 6 1/2 years of hell. That's the penalty he has to pay for 
what he did."

The film becomes tense and emotional as we also meet Lopez's ex-partner and his 
children.

"I hope they understand that I truly love all my kids. They can move on and 
lead a good life, I wish they could have another father in their life that'll 
be a real good father to them. They could just forget about me."

Alongside the main series there are also some additional extras such as a 
gallery from death row photographer Scott Langley, a short video explaining 
exactly how lethal injection works and testimony from a man who has witnessed 
more than 200 executions.

As for episode one of Life and Death Row, we won't give away what happens in 
the end.

But Lopez's scheduled date for execution comes the day after Vicky Alexander 
would have celebrated her 26th wedding anniversary.

One of the last things Lopez says, as he fights back the tears, is: "It's to 
move everything along, to stop all this pain going around."

***Daniel Lopez was executed by lethal injection in August 2015***

(source: BBC news)






VIRGINIA----impending execution

State officials may be using Ricky Gray execution to bring back electric chair


There is no mystery surrounding the murders committed by the man scheduled to 
be executed March 16.

But there is a mystery about how the state will kill him.

State Department of Corrections officials have given contradictory comments on 
whether they have the drugs to kill Ricky Gray.

Gray is sentenced to die for killing 2 young girls in Richmond in 2006. In all, 
he and his nephew are linked to the killings of 9 people, including the girls' 
parents.

Corrections officials have said they have 2 lethal doses of the 1st drug in the 
deadly cocktail needed for execution. They have also said they do not have 
enough of the 1st-step drug for the execution.

"I wonder what it is that they are not telling us," said Megan McCracken of the 
Death Penalty Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law and lethal injection 
expert." "There is some sort of lack of transparency where ... Virginia says it 
can't get the drugs but has the drugs."

Last week, the House of Delegates passed legislation that would make the 
electric chair an option for future executions. If it passes the Senate and 
Gov. Terry McAuliffe signs it, Gray could be executed in the electric chair 
after July 1.

How - and when - Gray will die remains in question.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, believes a theory flying around some 
circles in Richmond: The Corrections Department has the drugs it needs but is 
using the threat of not executing Gray as leverage to bring back the electric 
chair as an option that Department of Corrections officials can choose for the 
execution.

"They did not introduce their (electric chair) bill last year, so it's either 
that they are trying to use the gruesomeness of the Ricky Gray case to justify 
this, or else it is one heck of a coincidence," Surovell, a long-time opponent 
to the bill, said. "If it's such an important department prerogative, I'm not 
clear why they didn't try the bill last year. I don't think the legislature got 
any more friendly with the last election."

State law now gives condemned inmates the choice between the electric chair and 
lethal injection. Unless an inmate chooses the electric chair, the state's only 
option is lethal injection.

That's become problematic for Corrections Department officials. They say lethal 
injection drugs have gotten more difficult to obtain. Major drug companies 
won't sell them to states because they don't want to be associated with the 
death penalty.

Corrections officials obtained 3 vials of pentobarbital, the 1st drug in the 
state's 3-drug cocktail, from Texas last year to execute convicted murderer 
Alfredo Prieto. They used 1 vial to kill Prieto and say there are 2 unexpired 
vials left.

But they also say they don't have the step-1 drugs they need to kill Gray.

"The Department currently doesn't have the step-1 drugs necessary to carry out 
a death sentence by lethal injection. I can't comment further regarding lethal 
injection drugs due to potential litigation," Corrections spokeswoman Lisa 
Kinney said in an email. "The Department still has 2 vials of pentobarbital 
from Texas. They expire in April."

When asked to clarify last week, Kinney said the Department of Corrections 
"absolutely does not have the lethal injection drugs necessary to carry out a 
death sentence by lethal injection."

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said 
that in a well-administered system, there are often backup supplies of the 
execution drugs.

"The problem you have here is that because of Virginia's secrecy practices, we 
can't know," he said. "Generally when a state lacks the means to carry out an 
execution, it defers the execution."

States that still use lethal injection have been forced to turn to compounding 
pharmacies, which make drugs on a small scale. There are questions about their 
potency, McCracken said.

Legislators in past sessions have proposed bills giving the state the option to 
use the electric chair and to get its drug supply directly from compounding 
pharmacies. Both have failed.

Kinney said execution dates are set by the court, not the department. 
Corrections Department officials do not have a position on the bill from Del. 
Jackson Miller, R-Manassas, she said.

Sen. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk, said he opposes the measure because it puts 
the decision about what method to use in the hands of corrections officials and 
out of the hands of legislators, who represent the public.

"I think as a society we decide what the method should be," he said. "What if 
you get a correction officer who has the drugs, but is bent on, or for whatever 
reason, just wants to use the chair? I think that's the wrong public policy." 
On Oct. 17, 1990, Wilbert Lee Evans was executed for shooting Deputy Sheriff 
William Truesdale to death in the Alexandria courthouse in 1981.

Witnesses to the execution said Evans, whose face was partially covered by a 
leather mask, appeared to bleed profusely from his nose, ears and possibly his 
eyes. Prison officials later said he bled only from his right nostril.

In the aftermath of Evans' execution, state officials started to consider other 
methods. Then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said he would support legislation changing 
the execution method.

In 1994, Gov. George Allen signed a bill giving the condemned a choice between 
the electric chair and lethal injection. Today, the inmate still has that 
choice, but if an inmate does not choose within 15 days of the execution, the 
state must use lethal injection.

The bill was opposed more than 2 decades ago by a mix of senators who said 
death sentences should be painful and others who argued that capital punishment 
should be abolished.

Since the bill went into effect, 7 of the 87 people executed in Virginia have 
chosen the electric chair.

"It just makes it too easy on someone who has committed a horrible crime," 
then-Sen. Frank W. Nolen, D-Augusta, said of lethal injection at the time of 
the bill's passing. "To me, to put that individual to sleep is not good enough. 
The punishment should correspond with the crime."

Then-Sen. John H. Chichester, R-Fredericksburg, dismissed Nolen's argument.

"Whether it's electrocution or lethal injection, the results are still the 
same," he said at the time. "All this bill does is give prisoners a choice."

Before the vote on his bill in the House last week, Miller gave a graphic 
description of Gray's crimes.

In all, Gray and his nephew Ray Joseph Dandridge are linked to the killings of 
9 people, including Bryan and Kathryn Harvey. Bryan was a well-known musician 
and Kathryn was a former Virginia Beach homecoming queen who owned a toy store.

Gray is sentenced to die for murdering their 9- and 4-year-old girls in 
Richmond on New Year's Day in 2006.

All 4 were found in the basement of their burning home, bound, beaten with a 
hammer and stabbed, with their throats cut.

The murders shocked the Richmond area. An endowment supporting the arts still 
gives out scholarships in the family's name .

Surovell said he believes the Department of Corrections could be using Gray's 
execution as leverage because of what he sees as a pattern of secrecy within 
the department.

Officials said they could not find drugs for executions in 2014 when another 
bill was introduced to bring back the electric chair.

Then they got the pentobarbital from Texas to execute Prieto in October, the 
last man executed in Virginia.

Surovell said opponents were concerned last year when a bill was introduced to 
prevent public disclosure of the drugs and drug manufacturers used in lethal 
injections. The measure passed the Senate but was defeated in the House of 
Delegates 56-42.

"It's very clear to me that the DOC has an agenda to conduct executions with as 
little government or public oversight as possible, which is highly disturbing," 
Surovell said.

The Department of Corrections' statements don't add up, UC Berkeley's McCracken 
said, adding, "If there is something wrong with this compounded pentobarbital, 
VDOC should explain what has changed."

State officials defended use of the same batch of pentobarbital in federal 
court in October, and the court relied on the state's representations when it 
ruled that the department could use it, she said.

(source: Virginian-Pilot)

************

Electric chair's archaic punishment should be limited by Virginia Senate


Dear Virginia State Senate,

I am concerned about the future of our beloved state and write to you in 
desperate need of help. This past week it has come to my attention that the 
Virginia House of Delegates has voted for the electrocution chair and lethal 
injections to be interchangeable means of dying via the death penalty. In other 
words, should the drugs be unavailable for an inmate to be put to death via 
lethal injection, the state would be able to forcibly constrict a prisoner to 
the method of electrocution. Considering that the House of Delegates' decision 
could soon be finalized by the State Senate's approval, I type with heavy hands 
and a heart sunken to the pit of my stomach, hoping that my prose might jolt 
humanitarian values back into the people who hold the power to stop this.

It unnerves me to think that the government has become numb to the consequences 
of their decisions - those that seem so small when shelved aside global 
phenomenon - so instead I focus on my hope for clarity. Today, I plead for 
Virginia to restore my faith in the legacy of checks and balances; may the 
depth of our judicial system precede personal reservations and disengage the 
ability to harbor hate. It is true that monsters exist who have committed acts 
of murder against our own kind, but shall we turn wretched for the mere 
satisfaction of having their disgusting behavior served back onto them? I think 
not.

In the United States, only 5 methods exist for means of capital punishment: 
hanging, firing squad, electrocution chair, gas chamber and lethal injection. 
The rush to find new alternatives for executions has never been more urgent, 
considering that lethal injections have been the primary method for over 30 
states, and the U.S. has been suffering through a prolonged shortage of 
supplies. The Los Angeles Times in January 2011 first wrote about the 
retraction of sodium thiopental (a major anesthetic used in executions) under 
the contingency that the government was the primary buyer. Many other major 
drug companies have followed in their footsteps since.

I understand that we shouldn't be focusing our fiscal budget on things like new 
advancements for death row, but there is a fine line between making prisoners 
unnecessarily comfortable and treating inmates with basic rights all humans 
possess. Each execution method has its downfall, but drugs are by far the most 
conscientious to this very idea.

Surely as refined people of the state, senators must be aware of the process of 
electrocution. A human is groomed to conduct around 2,000 volts of electricity 
with the maintenance of a saline sponge wedged in between their legs and lying 
atop their head. Of course, the person's freedom is scrapped once the leather 
shackles wrap around the body from head to toe; a metal skull cap crowns the 
bald head and a blindfold is tied around the person's eyes while electrodes 
feed off the elastic flesh for 30-second increments.

Justice William Brennan spoke of ghastly reactions to the electrocution process 
following the United States Supreme Court's decision to deny certiorari in 
Glass v. Louisiana (1985):

"...the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on (his) cheeks. The 
prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns 
bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his 
skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire 
... Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly 
sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber."

Why, then, are we entertaining the notion that a method so torturous should be 
permitted in the place of the more peaceful practice of lethal injection?

A similar bill was passed through Virginia's House of Delegates in recent years 
but quickly denied by the Virginia State Senate. Later, Tennessee became the 
1st and only state to enact a policy similar to the bill in question in the 
late months of 2014. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), 
only 7 other states have authorized the use of electrocution in rare cases such 
as preference or physically being incompatible for its drug contents. Virginia 
is one of those 7 states and has been teetering over the line labeled "do not 
cross" for ages. I would like to believe that members of the State Senate will 
have the same inclination to deny the bill as they had before. I truly believe 
that Tennessee should regret selling out on moral standards in order to stitch 
up the drug shortage issue with an easy fix that pleases the economy.

David Raybin, attorney for Daryl Holton, recalls his experience of a Tennessee 
execution in 2007 in a company blog post:

"It demeans us as a society to have this electric chair execution on the books, 
much less to actually use it. The electric chair is a carnival of death which 
brings no dignity to the victim or our judicial system."

67 inmates currently await capital punishment in Tennessee, pending a 
constitutional review of a punishment made legal over 2 years ago. Each case 
has not only had its execution date postponed multiple times for insufficient 
drug availability but now has an arguable Eighth Amendment appeal.

After researching the shambolic history of the death penalty in DPIC, I note 
the countless times a state has withdrawn its anterior methods of execution. 
For example, Nebraska had electrocution as its primary method until February 
2008. Then in 2015, state legislatures successfully repealed the death penalty. 
This is a common occurrence. With a mess of constant up-and-down battles for 
the relevance of capital punishment, the one underlying similarity I have 
detected is that our indecisiveness proves that the way we have been doing 
things up until this point is not right. There must be another way.

With overwhelming data supporting each side of the argument, I too find it hard 
to submit a strong stance on the death penalty. I understand that the State 
Senate is often forced to make decisions on deadline, and I know this job 
cannot come easy. Senators of the state, you will not be able to right every 
wrong in our world with the restriction of a majority vote. Sometimes even the 
best people are deafened to the truth; the deceit of society's popular opinion 
has drowned out those sound cries. Instead, you must start rejecting what you 
do not believe in to salvage what rooted principles you have left. I may not be 
able to determine whether or not the death penalty itself is the essence of 
justice or a displacement of unavoidable barbaric desires, but I am confident 
that death by an electrocution chair is outright callous.

The Virginia state motto, "Sic semper tyrannis," translated as "thus always to 
tyrants," should mean something to all of us. We must be able to distinguish 
ourselves from those who have abused power and deserve to be punished. If we do 
not take this opportunity to ban archaic practices like electrocution, we will 
have no case to build that we are better than those already behind cell walls.

Sincerely,

A concerned Virginian

(source: Aly De Angelus, Collegiate Times)






FLORIDA:

House ready to move on death penalty changes


Taking an approach backed by prosecutors and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the 
Florida House on Wednesday is slated to take up a bill that would revamp the 
state's death-penalty sentencing system.

Lawmakers are hurrying to make changes after the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 
ruled that the current system is unconstitutional because it gives too much 
power to judges, instead of juries, in sentencing defendants to death.

The House and Senate agree on a key part of addressing the Supreme Court ruling 
-- requiring that jurors be unanimous in deciding that at least 1 "aggravating" 
factor exists before a defendant can be eligible for the death penalty.

But the 2 chambers are divided on a high-profile issue about whether jurors 
should be required to be unanimous in recommending to judges that death 
sentences be imposed.

In the past, Florida has required only majority recommendations.

The House, with support from prosecutors and Bondi, wants to move to a 9-3 
vote, while the Senate wants to require a unanimous recommendation.

The House is slated to take up its bill (HB 7101) during a floor session 
Wednesday afternoon, according to a calendar of bills approved Monday by the 
Rules and Calendar Committee.

(source: news4jax.vom)






LOUISIANA:

Execution scheduled for convicted serial killer could be delayed


The execution of a death row inmate could be delayed, according to the 
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

Convicted serial killer Daniel Blank, 53, was scheduled to be executed on March 
14. However, in a news release, the DPS&C said they do not have the drugs 
necessary to carry the execution out.

Safety and Corrections officials say that despite this, they still have a 
protocol they follow relating to carrying out a death warrant.

"In the case of Offender Daniel Blank, it is our intention to proceed with that 
protocol until legal actions dictate otherwise. Due to ongoing death penalty 
litigation, the Department cannot comment any further regarding this issue," 
said officials in a news release.

Blank admitted to killing 6 people, Victor Rossi, 41, Barbara Bourgeois, 58, 
Lillian Philippe, 71, Sam Arcuri, 76, Louella Arcuri, 69, and Joan Brock, 55, 
in Gonzales, St. Amant, LaPlace and Paulina between 1996 and 1997. He was 
arrested in November 1997 and sentenced to death in 1999.

"The key issue is this [execution] date. We have worked very hard to get it 
stayed," said Blank's attorney Gary Clements. "[Blank] is in front of the 
Louisiana Supreme Court now to go against what happened to him in court. We 
have filed a RID, which is like an appeal, and it was filed on February 1. 
There is no reason why an execution date should have been set."

Clements told WAFB they are still trying to prove Blank's innocence. Clements 
says what Blank actually admitted to and what the evidence actually was does 
not match up.

The RID has been filed with the 23rd JDC and the Louisiana Supreme Court.

(source: WAFB news)






TENNESSEE:

Tennesseans spend millions hiring attorneys for poor defendants


Taxpayers in Northeast Tennessee spent $5.4 million over a 3 year period to 
hire attorneys for defendants who are not able to afford lawyers of their own, 
according to data from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.

According to the state records, attorneys for indigent clients filed almost 
14,000 claims for payments from July 2012 through June 2015 for almost 134,000 
hours of work.

Howard Hawk Willis Still Costing Tennessee Post-Conviction

Convicted double-murderer Howard Hawk Willis, who currently sits on death row, 
cost the state more than any other defendant in Northeast Tennessee during that 
time. According to AOC data, 4 attorneys filed claims totaling $99,194 since 
2012.

A Washington County jury found Willis guilty in 2010 for the murders of 
newlyweds Adam and Samantha Chrismer. Investigators found the teenagers' 
dismembered bodies at a Johnson City storage facility. His indigent counsel 
filed claims for 1,410 hours, which is the equivalent of an attorney working on 
his case 24/7 for almost 59 days.

Constitutional Right

Whenever a defendant is unable to afford to hire his or her own attorney the 
Constitution requires the government appoint a lawyer for him or her.

"There are rulings by both the Tennessee Supreme Court and the United States 
Supreme Court that indigent defendants are entitled to representation," 
Washington County Sessions Court Judge Don Arnold said.

At the beginning of every hearing Judge Arnold reminds defendants of their 
rights. By the end of an average hearing the judge says roughly 75 % of all 
defendants will receive court-appointed representation.

It doesn't take much to secure indigent counsel. Defendants just have to fill 
out a form, swear they're telling the truth and then convince the judge.

Judge Arnold said just because someone says they can't afford an attorney 
doesn't mean he'll appoint one. He knows taxpayers are paying for people's 
defense, so he said he doesn't award attorneys to anyone who asks.

"I'm accused of being tough on appointing lawyers or public defenders for 
people because I look at whether or not people work," he said. "I don't feel 
like the taxpayers ought to pay for representation fully or bear the full 
burden of legal representation for people that go out and commit crimes against 
society and do not work or try to take care of their own debts when they're 
capable of doing that."

Homicide Cases Cost The Most

In addition to the Willis case, the other 4 most expensive cases were all 
highly publicized homicide cases.

According to AOC records, attorney claims for Justin Stratton, convicted of a 
2011 Washington County murder, cost just under $13,000. Meanwhile, Jawaune 
Massey, found guilty of the 2005 execution-style candle shop murders in 
Kingsport, cost just under $13,000 as well.

An appointed attorney made a difference in the case of one of Massey's 
co-defendants. A Sullivan County jury found Leslie Ware not guilty of 
1st-degree murder. Instead, jurors found him guilty of only lesser charges. 
Ware's representation cost just under $23,000, according to the AOC.

Ware's case wasn't the only one where indigent counsel made a difference.

Steven Rollins' attorney helped save his life. After years on death row the 
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the murder conviction of 
Rollins. The 2001 Kingsport bait shop killer pleaded guilty to 1st-degree 
murder, but this time a judge sentenced him to life in prison with the 
possibility of parole.

According to AOC claims, the Rollins case cost more than $26,000 since 
mid-2012.

Attorney Gene Scott often helps with death penalty cases, because he says those 
clients deserve it.

"It's important that these people have representation and I think it's 
important that they have an experienced lawyer to do it," Scott said.

Defendants Accused Of Petty Crimes Receive Representation Too

Attorney Bill McManus filed 458 claims for more than $87,000 since mid-2012, 
according to AOC records. After practicing law in Florida as a public defender 
he returned to Northeast Tennessee.

McManus said accepting indigent cases was the best way for him to help 
defendants and reestablish his practice.

"It's the basis of what I do," he said of his business. "I'm still trying to 
establish myself here. You have to kind of get established with the judges and 
let the district attorney's office know you. Everybody deserves a good defense 
and my job is not to get the person off, it's to make sure that they're treated 
fairly by the state."

New attorney Scott Shults said indigent representation is a first step in 
practicing law, but also an important step in the justice system.

"I'm happy to do that, especially because when you're the defendant the deck is 
stacked and the chips are down," he said. "The state has a lot of resources and 
a lot of these people don't. The bedrock of this nation's legal system is the 
presumption of innocence. Sure, there's some money in indigent defense, but 
there's also a source of pride to try to stand up for what our country holds so 
dear."

Lawmaker Says Indigent Costs Are Too High

According to the AOC, the state budgets $30 million every year for indigent 
defendants across Tennessee.

Rep. Jon Lundberg thinks there are ways the state can reduce the cost.

"It's too much," he said. "I think there's a due diligence where a judge could 
question a little bit more to see if someone's indigent."

The lawmaker filed legislation last season that would have required the study 
of the appointment of indigent defense attorneys, but the legislation didn't 
move forward. Although he trusts many judges ask the right questions, he says 
he'd like to see them ask even more questions before appointing attorneys.

"We've got to step that up somehow," Lundberg said. "Whether it's encouraging 
our judges to go a little further and ask a couple more questions. You don't 
have to take 20 to 30 minutes per person. Questioning them, 'Who pays your 
cable bill? Who pays your cell phone bill? Who brought you here?'" A Pitiful 
Situation

Back in Judge Arnold's courtroom, he thinks the public needs to be aware of the 
cost of court-appointed attorneys.

"It's a pitiful situation to sit up there and look at the poor people that are 
involved in the system," he said. "It's unfortunate, but it's just a mark of 
our society I suppose."

The judge said he knows the value of taxpayers??? money and pledges to keep 
asking tough questions.

In some cases, judges make defendants pay for a portion of their indigent 
defense, but it never amounts to much. According to the AOC, the yearly amount 
equals roughly $225,000.

Scott agrees the dollar figures are staggering.

"It is a high number for the taxpayers to have to bear and, unfortunately, 
taxpayers are bearing the cost of a lot people's mistakes, but at the same time 
people are entitled to be represented," he said. "If a person is able to pay a 
bail bondsman to get out of jail they should be able to hire their own 
attorney, too."

Other Changes On The Horizon?

Attorneys like McManus argue the state needs to do more to fairly pay attorneys 
for representing indigent clients. He said court-appointed attorneys in federal 
court make significantly more money.

According to AOC Communications Director Michele Wojciechowski, appointed 
attorneys earn $40 per hour for work outside of the courtroom and $50 per hour 
for time spent in court in Tennessee.

She said there are also caps on the amounts indigent counsel can earn per case. 
As it stands, attorneys are capped at 2,000 hours every year, according to the 
AOC.

Some lawmakers filed legislation this year that would increase the amount the 
state pays indigent attorneys. The proposed legislation would increase the $50 
for every courtroom hour fee to $75 an hour.

(source: WJHL news)