Taxpayers Charged $147,000 by Casey Anthony Attorneys
Casey Anthony’s lawyers have billed the state of Florida more than $147,000 in costs incurred for running her defense in the recent murder trial.
Taxpayers will have to foot a bill of $147,018 to date, according to records from the state’s Justice Administrative Commission.
Records also show that Florida has already paid more than $118,000 of those fees. However, the state is contesting and refusing to pay for some of the deposition transcripts, the use of independent contractors and some travel costs.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Included in the expenses was more than $65,000 to pay for independent contractors that carried out defense investigations, and also $21,000 on expert witnesses.
Taxpayers became responsible for Anthony's legal expenses in March 2010 after she ran out of money and was declared indigent by the courts.
Costs are still to be calculated related to the three-year police investigation that commenced when Caylee Anthony went missing in 2008. At that time Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, reported that the nanny had kidnapped her daughter.
Casey Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her daughter, but was convicted of charges of lying to detectives during the investigation, and sentenced to four years in jail. However, credit for time served awaiting trial and good behavior meant that she only spent less than two weeks more in prison after her sentencing.
Anthony has already reported that she plans to appeal her convictions, and will ask that state continue to fund her legal costs during that defense.
Since her release her whereabouts and how she is funding her new life on the outside have not been made public. However, her lawyers have confirmed that she is safe and has also received hundreds of job and housing offers, according to Reuters.
She was last seen when her attorney, Jose Baez, led her from the jail on July 17 to an SUV, and the two quickly made their getaway from the hoard of media gathered outside the jail.
According to WFTV, Casey Anthony was spotted boarding a private plane at Orlando Executive Airport. The plane, however, has been seen in various locations since then including Arizona, Florida and Louisiana.
