New Orleans - The public defender at the helm of the capital appeals project has stepped down amid allegations of missing money.
Jelpi Picou ran the non-profit that handles appeals for those facing the death penalty in Louisiana. According to CAP's new acting director, once they discovered funds missing, they reported it the state board.
The Louisiana's public defenders' board requires monthly financial reports from CAP and today issued the following statement:
"Per our policy, when the former director Jelpi Picou stopped providing records, the board stopped making payments, the board then exercised its right to inspect CAP's records, at which time, Picou resigned."
Criminal charges have not been filed.
