The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, Quill correspondent
OQUAWKA - Brian Boyd's sentence of 105 years in prison for his part in a May 2001 murder and attempted murder will stand.
But one of his attorneys, Jeremy Karlin, may have to wait a bit on some of his earnings from the capital murder case.
Judge John Clerkin, who sentenced Boyd Oct. 21 for his part in the murder of Dwight Vice and the attempted murder of Vice's 12-year-old son, Darrell, said he is always willing and ready to review any decision he makes.
But he also said he does not feel he erred in applying the law in Boyd's case, given the convicted man's "prior history in criminal activity."
Clerkin also listened as Karlin asked that Henderson County stand good for earnings he accrued in May and June of this year that have not been paid by the Illinois Capital Litigation Trust Fund.
Karlin said that certain areas of the fund have been depleted, but that supplemental appropriations may be forthcoming at some undetermined future date.
The fund was established by the state to assist counties with murder cases being tried where the death penalty is being sought by prosecutors and the costs incurred by such trials.
Karlin told Clerkin he has worked hard on the Boyd case over the past 17 months and at great personal sacrifice. He said it was an issue of who should wait on a check Ñ himself or the county.
Karlin also asked that Henderson County pay him for services rendered since Sept. 18, when Boyd was found guilty by a McDonough County jury.
He calculated he had logged 28 hours of work on the case, which is no longer considered eligible for coverage by the fund after his client's conviction, and asked for a reasonable hourly rate of $100 per hour.
Attorneys working the 9th Circuit, he said, typically earn between $75 and $130 per hour. Karlin also asked for reimbursement for psychological testing done on his client in the amount of $1,500 and $100 in other expenses.
Clerkin ordered the county to pay the post-Sept. 18 costs, but told Karlin to look to the state for earlier costs.
While the fund has been depleted, Clerkin said the Legislature's "veto session," slated for Nov. 19 to 21 and again from Dec. 3 to 5, may well result in supplemental funding for qualifying expenses that remain unpaid.
Regardless of that possibility, Clerkin said Karlin should look to the state for a solution.