ATLANTA — A state-appointed attorney representing a defendant charged in the Young Slime Life gang trial against rapper Young Thug and his alleged associates claims the state is not doing enough to protect Georgians who are too poor to pay for their own defense.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was outside the Fulton County courthouse on Monday, where Judge Ural Glanville ruled against a motion that would’ve force him to recuse himself from a hearing.
What happened next caused a lot of concern and frustration among defense attorneys.
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“This case is slated to last for about a year, and if you were to do the math, it would be six dollars an hour,” defense Attorny Angela D’Wiliams said. “I can’t take any new cases. I can’t close any cases. I need something to survive off of.”
D’Williams is calling out the Georgia Public Defender Council, which is the state agency that appointed D’Williams to represent one of the defendants in the YSL trial.
“We were under the impression that GPDC was advocating for us, and once they put those walls up, I’m thinking I need to start an OnlyFans,” D’Williams said.
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D’Williams said she hoped to question GPDC’s executive director Omotayo Alli, but the executive director never took the stand. Instead, one of her lawyers stood in for her.
“I asked for additional funds back in March, and that was met with a letter from the director saying she doesn’t need to meet with me anymore,” D’Williams said. “I need to know what she has done to advocate for the appointed counsel in this case.”
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After a 10-minute closed-door meeting between D’Williams and the DPDC, the two parties agreed they would meet again within the next two weeks.
A spokesperson for GPDC said they are working to find additional funds for lawyers who are currently getting paid $15,000 for the entire case.
“If they really cared about those that are indigent, they would use taxpayer’s money wisely,” defense attorney KR Chowbey said.
The reality of the situation is that 85% of defendants in Georgia are indigent, and as of last August, more than 600 were unrepresented.
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