A flood of concerns about poor defendants led Rep. Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula, to withdraw a proposal to eliminate some standards for the state's indigent defense system.
The proposal, which had been included in a criminal justice reform bill (House Bill 328), would have eliminated requirements that poor defendants see an attorney in a timely manner. It also would have eliminated a requirement that Georgia's public defender offices have divisions that specialize in representing children.
Efstration asked Monday that a House committee consider a substitute that no longer included the changes to the indigent defense standards. The Judiciary Non-Civil committee agreed to the substitute and passed a version of the bill that was devoted to changes recommended by Gov. Nathan Deal’s Council on Criminal Justice Reform.
“Some concerns were raised and I have been working very hard to speak with anyone who had concerns,” Efstration said after the vote. “What is very important to me is that this critical legislation moved forward in the legislative process.”
The bill, as passed by the committee, is devoted to continuing Deal’s mission to reform the criminal justice system so that it emphasizes incarceration for violent offenders and rehabilitation for non-violent drug offenders. The bill would give repeat, nonviolent drug offenders sentenced to lengthy prison terms the chance to seek parole after serving 12 years behind bars. This can only happen if the offenders have obtained the equivalent of a high school diploma and are considered a low risk to re-offend.
The bill also calls for changes to improve the accuracy of reports on criminal histories as well as an easier path toward reinstatement of professional licenses for some offenders.
Critics of the proposed changes to the indigent defense system applauded the decision to remove the controversial elements from the bill
“Today was a step in the right direction,” said Sara Totonchi, executive director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. The organization had strongly objected last week to the elements of the bill related to standards for indigent defense.
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