Deep cuts: in Georgia, not enough money for executions

A case brought to the Georgia Supreme Court this Tuesday might decide whether Georgia can afford to levy the death penalty any more. Jamie Weis has been sitting in jail for four years waiting for a trial because the state can’t afford to give him adequate representation or his Sixth Amendment-guaranteed right to a “speedy and public trial.” Yesterday, Jamie presented a pre-trial appeal ? drop his charges, or at least the possibility of the death penalty.

To find out more we spoke with Emily Green, a reporter covering the justice system for Georgia Public Broadcasting, and Robert McGlasson, an attorney at law who represented a previous death-penalty defendant in one of the most expensive cases in Georgia history. (You can read other stories in our “Deep Cuts” series on states’ budget shortfalls.)