Public defender: No money, no death penalty
The Cook County public defender's share of a fund used to cover expenses to represent people in death-penalty cases is empty, the agency's leader announced Wednesday.
Cook County Public Defender Abishi Cunningham Jr. said this money shortage means attorneys in his office will file dozens of motions this week asking judges to either bar the state from seeking death or allow public defenders to withdraw from capital cases because the attorneys can no longer mount adequate defenses.
