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Thread: List of Death Row Inmates Represented By Private Attorney

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    List of Death Row Inmates Represented By Private Attorney

    I’d be curious to know how many death row inmates were represented by a private attorney (that they paid for, or someone paid for on their behalf). I know most use public defenders (most people, in general, use public defenders when facing serious charges bc they can not afford the cost of an attorney), but I know of at least one who had a private attorney (Thomas Whitaker, who spent 11 years on TX death row before getting commuted).
    Does anyone know of any other death row inmates who could afford an attorney and ended up getting the death penalty? Y’all are knowledgeable people, I figured if anyone would know, it’d be someone here.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Off the top of my head, James Fayed from California and Patrick Evans in Florida though he's doing life now.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Of recent people I know that James Garrett Freeman had two private ones and he got stuck onto a rocket docket.

    I also know that Lester Bower had great team after he got onto the row.

    If I had to take a guess the most of these people for trials who used a private attorney are middle aged white men who killed their spouses or are accused of a decades old crime. It's a small number however with trials. If you look at Mark Anthony Soliz's trial his defense billed the state $782,517.17.

    Now for guys on the row its a unknown number since a large number of lawyers(not public attorneys) from overseas and here will volunteer to try to save these peoples lives. If I remember there was even an article posted here that a lawyering school in the UK has a class where the students handle the appeals of a DR inmate for a year or more. Also you have networks set up where these people coordinate the appeals as well.

    You can look at their appeals to SCOTUS and usually their attorneys will have a mailing address so anyone you see out of state would be considered a "private attorney". I know that Texas is heavily targeted by these people.
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Thomas Arthur of AL had an excellent private attorney. He was also an old white guy responsible for a decades old crime.
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

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    Thanks for the info!
    Yea I know some get private attorneys for appeals via donations from those close to them or those who hear about their case and are sympathetic to their case. It’d be interesting to see how many people who get off death row (either through reversed conviction or reduced sentence) did so with a private attorney vs. a public one.
    I know that sometimes there are students who are assigned to handle some of the appeals of death row inmates...but due to their inexperience, I have my doubts about the quality of their representation skills. They don’t even have a degree yet.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    That's the point with the low quality its another appeal and reason to get these guys off the row. You don't have to pass the bar to represent a person in their appeals I believe.
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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    So I guess there are some rich ppl on death row after all. Interesting. Sometimes, no amount of $ can save you.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike View Post
    That's the point with the low quality its another appeal and reason to get these guys off the row. You don't have to pass the bar to represent a person in their appeals I believe.
    Yea, I mean, ppl are allowed to represent themselves pro se if they do choose! ItÂ’s tricky, bc on one hand, I agree with people having the choice to represent themselves or by represented by whoever they want, but on the other hand, if your choices are limited to a bunch of law students, youÂ’re probably not gonna get the best.

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