Inmates allowed to renegotiate sentences due to fired lawyer

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Eight Illinois prison inmates sentenced for low-level felonies were given a chance to renegotiate their cases, which were handled by a former assistant public defender who is accused of practicing law without a license.

Authorities say the eight inmates were allowed the action because their sentences had been negotiated by Kelcie Miller.

Madison County Public Defender John Rekowski told the Belleville News-Democrat one of the inmates who had been a Miller client negotiated his eight-year sentence for burglary down to seven years. He says the other seven inmates decided to keep their deals.

The 26-year-old Miller was fired in May after about seven months as an assistant public defender. She is facing criminal charges of impersonating of an attorney and forging an Illinois Attorney Registration Card, as well as a theft charge for the taxpayer-funded salary she received. She has also been charged in northern Illinois' Winnebago County with writing bad checks.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com