The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens the right to an attorney to people who cannot afford one, but our InvestigateTV team discovered that fundamental right is falling apart across the country.
Content warning: This story contains descriptions of and images associated with suicide. If you or someone you know are experiencing thoughts of suicide, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling, texting or chatting 988. The original hotline number, 1-800-273-8255, is also open. Additional resources can be found at - The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens the right to an attorney to people who cannot afford one.
“We have individuals whose family members are impacted because they’re not home with their families.”Desperate for representation Vann-Marcouex couldn’t afford an attorney or the $25,000 bail. So, he sat in Wood County’s jail waiting for his court-appointed attorney. His family said Vann-Marcouex called Wisconsin’s public defender’s office every day, asking for a lawyer.
A sheriff investigator asked Orheim, the former inmate, about Vann-Marcouex’s suicide, “What do you think drove him to do what he did?” “I think the detectives and not having a public defender,” Orheim said. experienced a 20% vacancy rate for trial attorneys certified in public defense, nearly double the rate before the pandemic. About one-third of private bar attorneys also left the certification list.
“We are working on an unacceptable crisis and you’re not the only one,” said McBurney to a defendant who had been in jail since December 2019 for armed robbery charges. The 23-year-old did not have an attorney during the hearing even though he qualified for one. The 19-year-old, charged with murder, sat in jail for 11 months and did not have a lawyer for the court hearing. He said he’s innocent. In court, Phillips’ parents asked a judge for help.
McBurney compares Georgia’s problem to court systems typically associated with authoritarian regimes. “You just may want to know that the person who did this is just being put away somewhere safe so that it doesn’t happen to the next person, or they don’t come back and get you because they burglarized your house and took all sorts of identifying information,” he said. “When you call the district attorney’s office to ask what’s going on with my case the answer is – nothing – because there is no lawyer here for the defendant.
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