Pennsylvania, Instead Of Counties, To Provide Public Defender Funding
(Harrisburg, PA) -- Pennsylvania has become the nation's 49th state to provide funding for indigent defense, which was once totally financed by the counties. The commonwealth was the next-to-the-last state in the country to make this happen. Officials say the funding will come from a seven-and-a-half-million-dollar state appropriation and two-and-a-half million more will come from the governor's proposed budget. He says the lack of state funding is a "shameful distinction" that's lead to uneven quality in representation.