Some court-appointed defense attorneys in the highly-publicized YSL RICO case involving rapper Young Thug are now complaining about the “egregiously low” wages received for work they believe to be worth greater compensation.
According to Vibe, the legal representatives appointed by the Public Defenders Council to represent three of the 14 defendants in YSL’s almost two-year trial have now argued that their pay needs to be revised given the complex workload and high-profile nature of the case.
Angela D’Williams, one of the defense attorneys representing YSL’s Rodalius Ryan, submitted a motion to be withdrawn from the trial because her pay is “egregiously low for the amount of work and attention this trial requires.”
The defense attorneys, including D’Williams, are reportedly earning $15,000 each to represent their clients on a case that could last a year.
“This is not fair,” she said.
“This case is slated to last for about a year, and if you were to do the math, it would be six dollars an hour,” D’Williams added. “I can’t take any new cases. I can’t close any cases. I need something to survive off of.”
She also called out the Georgia Public Defender Council for not backing the defense attorneys and denying their request for a pay increase.
“We were under the impression that GPDC was advocating for us, and once they put those walls up, I’m thinking I need to start an OnlyFans,” she continued.
Attorneys Justin Hill and Suri Chandha Jimenez, who are also representing YSL defendants, have expressed similar sentiments.
Reportedly, Hill signed on to the RICO case for $7,500 and has since had his compensation doubled due to the lengthiness of the trial. However, now that the case is expected to last even longer, Hill is demanding more pay that matches the time he will be spending on this case.
“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,” the defense attorney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hill, who represents YSL’s Damone Blalock, also said that the infamous case has been keeping him from working any other cases, and he’s been forced to pull all-nighters and weekend hours.
Suri Chadha Jimenez, who represents defendant Coradrius Dorsey, reiterated Hill’s statement:
“Nobody in this country should get paid $7.25 an hour, and definitely nor somebody who is trying to protect the liberty of somebody else.”
A spokesperson for GPDC said they are working to find additional funds for the defense attorneys currently getting paid $15,000 for the entire YSL case.
Young Thug (Jeffrey Lamar Williams), said to be the “leader of a violent street gang called Young Slime Life,” was charged along with over a dozen other individuals, including fellow rapper Gunna (Sergio Kitchens), in a sprawling indictment last May, with more charged added in a second indictment in August.
The alleged gang members named in the indictment are charged with conspiracy to violate the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by participating in a pattern of illegal activity – including murders, shootings, and carjackings – to collect cash for the gang, burnish YSL’s reputation and expand its territory.
Gunna pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act in what is referred to as an Alford please – a deal that allows him to maintain his innocence but recognizes that it’s in his best interest to plead guilty.
His five-year sentence was commuted to time served and 500 hours of community service as part of the deal.
