Records show a fund used for expenses in capital murder cases paid more than $500,000 for two brothers accused of killing five family members in their central Illinois home.
The records of a Freedom of Information Act request showed the amount. The records show the state paid more than $250,000 each in the cases of Chris Harris and Jason Harris.
The brothers are accused of using a tire iron to kill Ruth and Rick Gee and 3 of the couple's children in the town of Beason in 2009. They're also charged with attempted murder for an attack on the Gees' then 3-year-old daughter, who survived.
Funding for the case moved from the Capital Litigation Trust Fund to Logan County when Illinois abolished the death penalty.