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* Some of the last bills are being paid out of the state’s Capital Litigation Fund…
Illinois taxpayers spent more than $1.1 million for the defense and prosecution of Christopher Coleman, the former bodyguard who was sentenced to three life terms for strangling his wife and two young sons in 2009.
The money will be some of the last spent from the state’s controversial Capital Litigation Fund. The fund, established in 1999, will be terminated at the end of the year because Illinois has abolished the death penalty.
The fund was created with the intent of ensuring fair trials for capital murder defendants. But it also has helped many counties, particularly those with small budgets, afford expensive capital cases by shifting the financial burden to state government. […]
[State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth] has said he proposed the [new] first-degree murder fund because Logan County, a small county of 30,305 about 35 minutes north of Springfield, is struggling to pay for a murder trial. In that case, two brothers are accused of killing a husband and wife and three of their children in September 2009.
* The idea of the fund was to make sure defendants facing the death penalty got a fair trial, but there were some abuses…
The 2004 retrial in Mount Vernon, Ill., of Cecil Sutherland, twice convicted in the murder of a child, cost state taxpayers about $2 million in what is considered the state’s most expensive case.
The 2008 St. Clair County trial of Jason Smith cost more than $1 million. Billing records showed that private investigators and expert witnesses charged steep fees to drive, make copies and send emails. One private investigator was allowed to bill 49 hours for one day, while a ballistics expert was allowed to charge $300 an hour to drive to Belleville from Indiana.
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 9:42 am
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How much money is left in the fund? Where will the money go when they dissolve it?
Comment by Oak Parker Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 9:53 am
The fund didn’t have enough money in it to ensure fair trials. It couldn’t make much impact in the 101 let alone Cook. It was one of the reasons I was in-favor of the repeal.
Comment by Dirty Red Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:01 am
–The 2008 St. Clair County trial of Jason Smith cost more than $1 million. Billing records showed that private investigators and expert witnesses charged steep fees to drive, make copies and send emails. One private investigator was allowed to bill 49 hours for one day, while a ballistics expert was allowed to charge $300 an hour to drive to Belleville from Indiana.–
I’d be fascinated to know what the going rate for sending an email is.
Clearly, abolition of the death penalty will have a disastrous impact on the Illinois economy.
Can you imagine hustling a buck on whether another human being swings? What is the credibility in trial of the “experts” who ring up death penalty cases like cash registers?
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:09 am
Abolishing the death penalty was a fiscally responsible move.
Comment by Boone Logan Square Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:20 am
The demise of the death penalty is beneficial to Illinois society!
Comment by doug dobmeyer Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:26 am
Just think, if George Ryan had not sold out, this would have been his wonderful legacy.
Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:32 am
word - most of these people charge for their time by the hour. Although, it does seem like whoever charged for a 49 hour day is ridiculous.
Comment by Cheswick Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 10:45 am
A 2010 article in the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology by Prof. Leigh Bienen of Northwestern Univ. Law School provides the definitive analysis on how economic variables including the Capital Litigation Fund have influenced capital prosecuions. I credit this exhaustive study with ultimately convincing me to reverse my previous longstanding support of the death penalty in Illinois.
Here’s the link: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/backissues/v100/n4/1004_1301.Bienen.pdf
Comment by Sen. Jeff Schoenberg Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 12:11 pm
“I’d be fascinated to know what the going rate for sending an email is.”
A one liner (like, “We will review your proposal and get back to you”)? From a top(ish) billing-rate professional? Anywhere from ~$100 to ~$250, depending on the billing arrangement with the client.
Comment by Chris Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 4:23 pm
I get billed at the quarter hour for an email.
Comment by Way Way Down Here Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 5:00 pm
This blog post is free…
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Nov 15, 11 @ 6:25 pm