Tuesday, March 11, 2008
News Brian Nichols gets trial date for courthouse killing spree
Posted by Scott Freeman on Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 2:11 PM
Cobb County Superior Court Judge James Bodiford is determined to get the Brian Nichols trial back on track. Yesterday, he set a July 10 trial date for the man accused of a Fulton County Courthouse shooting spree three years ago that left a judge, a court reporter and two law enforcement officers dead.
There's just one hitch: How will the Nichols defense team be paid?
The trial has been on hold for months because the Georgia Capital Defenders unit of the state's public defender system is broke. The program — which handles all indigent death penalty cases in Georgia — has become the favorite whipping boy of Republican lawmakers, who continue to cut funding for indigent defense.
It's no coincidence that the trial date comes immediately after the state's new fiscal year starts July 1. That means a fresh infusion of cash into the program.
This week's CL cover story — which will be online later this afternoon — delves into the issues surrounding the Nichols trial and the crisis that has stalled death penalty cases all over the state. I'll update this afternoon with the link.
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