A new twist has emerged in the ongoing racketeering trial of rapper Young Thug and his alleged associates from the “Young Slime Life” gang.
Several public defenders appointed by the Georgia Public Defender Council to represent three of the 14 defendants in the case claim that they are not paid enough for their services.
The defense attorneys argue that the compensation they receive needs to be revised, given the intense workload and the high-profile nature of the case.
Angela D’Williams, an attorney representing Rodalius Ryan, submitted a motion this week requesting to withdraw from the case. She described the pay as “egregiously low for the amount of work and attention this trial requires.”
Fellow defense attorneys Justin Hill and Suri Chadha Jimenez, who represent other defendants in the case, have also expressed dissatisfaction with their compensation.
The trial, which began on January 9, 2023, is expected to last at least six months.
Initially, Hill accepted the case for $7,500, but his pay was doubled when it became clear that the trial would last nearly a year. Despite the pay increase, Hill expressed his concerns about the case’s demands on his time.
“For at least a year’s worth of full-time work, that’s essentially less than minimum wage…to be honest, I could make more money working at Chick-fil-A as a cashier,” Hill told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The defense attorneys are currently paid $15,000 each to represent their clients throughout the trial, regardless of duration.
The last straw came when the trio wrote a letter to the Georgia Public Defender Council in hopes of getting a pay raise. They request was denied. The
Hill, who represents defendant Damone Blalock, mentioned that the trial demands have required him to put other cases on hold, forcing him to work on them during nights and weekends.
The trial has seen its fair share of dramatic moments so far. In one instance, Young Thug was accused of conducting a drug deal in court, just feet away from prosecutors and bailiffs.
The incident was caught on video, further fueling the tension surrounding the case.
In another shocking event, a 21-year-old prospective juror was briefly jailed after she was caught capturing court proceedings on her cellphone, violating court rules.
As the trial continues to unfold, the concerns raised by the defense attorneys about their compensation adds a new layer of complexity to an already high-stakes case.