What is the history of representation of death penalty inmates?
Before 1985, private lawyers represented death penalty defendants on pro bono (volunteer) basis. Not all defendants received representation under this system and the progress of cases was slowed due to the absence of counsel in some cases. In 1985, the Office of the Capital Collateral Counsel was created to provide state-financed representation to death row defendants. By 1997, that office was unable to represent all of the death penalty defendants who needed lawyers. Accountability questions also arose about the use of resources. In 1997, the Legislature divided the office, which had been located in Tallahassee, into three regional offices. Section 27.701, Florida Statutes, provides for three Offices of the Capital Collateral Regional Counsels. The northern region had an office in Tallahassee that covered Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylo
