‘Crisis’ in death-penalty trial system

They involve some of Georgia’s most heinous slayings, with death-penalty defendants accused of massacres, child killings, crimes of unthinkable depravity.

Yet almost one in five of all pending capital cases statewide is stalled because there is no money to pay for the defense of the accused.

Judges and prosecutors are exasperated. Defense attorneys are filing contempt motions and asking to withdraw from their cases.

“It’s a constitutional crisis,” Forsyth Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bagley said at a recent hearing for Frank Ortegon Jr., accused of a murderous rampage at a farmhouse three years ago.

Not only is a defendant’s right to a fair and speedy trial compromised, Bagley said, but the community isn’t getting resolution, either.

Bagley postponed motions hearings and expressed confidence the Legislature would provide the funds for Ortegon’s defense.

Similarly, in March, a Glynn County judge “reluctantly” delayed the capital trial for David Edenfield, accused of killing a 6-year-old boy two years ago.

Judge Stephen Scarlett said he expected funds would be available after the new fiscal year begins July 1.

“We can’t defend the case without any money,” said James Yancey, one of Edenfield’s lawyers. “The experts we need won’t work for free.”

In the General Assembly’s final days, it looked as if the money was on its way. The House put $1.1 million in the state Public Defender Standards Council’s budget for the capital cases. The Senate cut it out.

The money would have paid for cases defended by private lawyers who bill the state at $95 an hour. Most are multidefendant cases where state-salaried defenders cannot represent one person because of conflict-of-interest rules.

Lawmakers “went above and beyond” providing funds to the defender system at a time state agencies suffered deep budget cuts to offset declining tax revenue, Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville) said last week. While funding for capital cases was cut, it was restored for other critical parts of the program, he said.

“There was no ax to grind at all,” Hill said. “This is a terrible budget time. Nobody was spared any pain.”

Glynn County District Attorney Stephen Kelley said prosecutors are eager to get their capital cases moving.

“If the state cannot fund them, certainly the Superior Court judges in this state have the inherent power to make sure justice moves,” he said. This means ordering fees to be paid, he said.

In April 2007, the nude bodies of two teenage girls were found behind a south Fulton County school. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against two men.

But the case of one defendant, William Felts, is stalled because of funding issues.

Akil Secret, one of Felts’ lawyers, said he may either file a motion to withdraw from the case or file contempt motions against the defender council.

“It’s only fair to Mr. Felts,” he said. “Right now, there’s just no way we can build a defense for him.”

The state defender system was established to replace a hodgepodge of county-run programs, many that provided uneven representation of the poor. But the state system has encountered numerous setbacks and been hit with several lawsuits because it has not had enough money to pay its bills.

Mack Crawford, head of the state council, is increasingly being called into court to explain.

On Monday, he appeared in Paulding County on a contempt motion brought by lawyers representing Michael Ledford, accused of killing a woman on the Silver Comet Trail. Judge James Osborne interrupted the first day of jury selection for the hearing, during which lawyers Tom West and Jimmy Berry said their bills totaling more than $60,000 had not been paid.

“The whole process is about to come to a screeching halt,” West said.

Nicholas Dumich, a lawyer representing the defender council, told Osborne the agency wants to pay but was having trouble coming up with the money.

Osborne gave a clear indication he wanted to act on the issue but ultimately dismissed the contempt motion on procedural grounds. Berry then sat down at the defense table, wrote up a new motion and gave it to Dumich. Osborne promptly scheduled another contempt hearing for April 20.

By week’s end, a resolution was reached and jury selection continued. Details were kept sealed in an order signed by Osborne.

West and another private attorney are defending a Pike County death case that has been delayed for months over funding issues. Asked Thursday whether he thought a resolution could be reached in that case, West replied, “I have no earthly idea.”