The lawyers representing a man accused of killing a correctional officer at the Maryland House of Correction in 2006 argued yesterday that their client should not face the death penalty because they are not being adequately compensated for their work on the case.
Gary E. Proctor and co-counsel Michael E. Lawlor entered a motion yesterday to preclude the death penalty as a sentencing option in the murder trial of Lee Edward Stephens, one of two inmates accused in the killing, because the fees they are being paid by the state to mount a defense are "manifestly unreasonable."
Because Stephens' co-defendant, Lamarr Harris, is being represented by defense attorneys who work for the county public defender's office, the office has hired private attorneys, Proctor and Lawlor, to represent Stephens to avoid any conflict. Stephens and Harris are accused of murdering David W. McGuinn, a correctional officer at the now-closed Jessup facility, July 25, 2006.
The panel attorneys are paid $50 an hour for their services, which - according to a brief filed on behalf of the death penalty dismissal motion - would allow them to dedicate 400 hours of work to the case, less than a third of what attorneys arguing federal capital cases receive, and is a violation of American Bar Association guidelines that state it is "improper" to employ flat fees, caps on compensation and lump-sum contracts in a death penalty case.
The Office of the Maryland Public Defender sets a $20,000 cap per attorney for earnings trying a case in which the death penalty is a sentencing option. According to a 2007 study cited by the defense attorneys, only Mississippi pays its attorneys at a lower rate.
In the brief, Proctor and Lawlor wrote that they face two choices: "represent Mr. Stephens to the best of their ability and face financial ruin, or neglect Mr. Stephens' case to pay the bill and book their client a bunk in death row."
Estimating a 10-week-long trial, the attorneys argued in their brief that they anticipate "working well in excess of 1,200 hours in this case - or three times the cap."
Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Paul A. Hackner, who heard the motion, is not expected to make a ruling until later this year.
Although the public defender's office has moved to increase the hourly rate for private attorneys in death penalty cases to $75 in fiscal 2006 and $125 in fiscal 2007, budget constraints have forced the office to continue paying those attorneys the $50 rate.
