Louisiana Capital Appeals Project director accused of embezzlement
The director of the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, Louisiana apparently resigned this month amid allegations of embezzlement:
The director of a nonprofit death penalty appeals agency abruptly resigned this month as state officials were headed to his New Orleans office to inspect the financial records he kept, later finding at least $100,000 in state and other public funds unaccounted for.Jelpi Picou, an attorney hired in May 2004 by the Louisiana Public Defender Board to run the Capital Appeals Project, resigned from the post Nov. 2, days before members of the state board were to arrive for an inspection.
Given the lack of funding for indigent defense around the country, as defense lawyers struggle to preserve the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, the last thing that we need is allegations of misappropriation of funds by a public defender. It doesn't appear that Picou has been charged yet, and hopefully what they are dealing with is bad book-keeping and not theft of public funds that were designated for representation of indigent defendants.
