• Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
    • Legislature
    • Politics / Govt
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • The Bill Pollock Show
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support

Missourinet

Your source for Missouri News and Sports

You are here: Home / Crime / Courts / State Public Defender Director wants another $10 million added to this year’s budget

State Public Defender Director wants another $10 million added to this year’s budget

August 14, 2015 By Alisa Nelson

A request to the Governor has been made by the Director of the Missouri State Public Defender System for an additional $10 million in this year’s budget to hire 50 more attorneys and 20 support staff.

Michael Barrett said some offices have two-and-a-half times the number of cases they can handle with their current staff.  He said Missourians deserve adequate representation.

Missouri State Public Defender Director Michael Barrett

Missouri State Public Defender Director Michael Barrett

“For years, we’ve been going to the Governor and the Legislature saying we just don’t have enough resources by way of the number of attorneys we have to deal with the 70,000 plus cases that we have every year representing poor Missourians who are charged with a criminal defense,” said Barrett.  “Everyone in our offices across the state are over 100% capacity. We have many offices that are over 200-250% capacity.”

Barrett said inadequate defense has an effect on the prison population.

“In Missouri, the state prison population is artificially increasing. By that, I mean the number of non-violent and first-time offenders is really growing our prisons beyond its capacity,” said Barrett.

He said if the Public Defender System continues to be underfunded, the state will have to build a new prison. Barrett says there are currently 376 public defenders in Missouri.

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, News, Politics / Govt

Subscribe to our daily newsletter


Tweets by Missourinet

Sports

Second half surge pushes Mizzou past A&M

Dru Smith … [Read More...]

Blues pounded by Avs 8-0

The … [Read More...]

Nationally ranked basketball teams postpone next week’s matchup

The third … [Read More...]

Hunt on coming back to KC and Mizzou basketball returns after a pause (PODCAST)

Thanks for … [Read More...]

Mizzou women get first SEC win in return to the court after COVID-19 layoff

After a … [Read More...]

More Sports

Tweets by missourisports

Archives

Opinion/Editorials

TwitterFacebook

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC