Judge lets lawyers quit in immigrant killing case

The Tift County judge hearing the case in the killings of six Mexican immigrants has allowed two attorneys to withdraw from defending one of the men charged. Superior Court Judge Gary C. McCorvey on Monday granted the request of Converse Bright and Robert Walker, who filed a motion to withdraw as attorneys for Stacey Sims. The motion says the attorneys were unable to prepare Sims' defense because the Capitol Defender Project "fails to pay counsel fees and fees for investigators, consultants and expert witnesses." On Friday, McCorvey sentenced Jamie Underwood to 120 years in prison without the possibility of parole in the killings. Underwood was one of four people charged in the killings of six men and injuring of at least six others in 2005.

(Associated Press)