The executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission was asked to resign yesterday amidst charges that not enough of the money appropriated to the Commission was being spent on indigent defense. Meredith Bonny of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has the complete story here, including this:
Betsy Wells Edwards is director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Coalition, a nonprofit group aimed at improving and reforming the indigent-defense system. She said pay and a lack of resources for public defenders offices and court-appointed attorneys in Virginia are long-standing issues.
“It’s embarrassing,” she said, explaining that in Virginia, court-appointed attorneys are paid $112 per misdemeanor charge. “You can’t even keep the lights on for that.”
Others agreed.
“We still have a long way to go in terms of providing good quality representation,” said Steve Benjamin, a defense attorney and member of the commission.
Meanwhile, Jerry Kilgore is criticized for suggesting that he would work with various groups to find a way to increase funding to indigent defense attorneys.
