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Hale says he has only $150, couldn’t pay any fine

Chicago Sun-Times, USA
Mar. 29, 2005
Natasha Korecki, Federal Courts Reporter
www.suntimes.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Wednesday March 30, 2005

As he braces himself for sentencing next week, white supremacist Matthew Hale says he’s broke.

In a recently filed court document, Hale said “at most I have $150 to my name” and couldn’t immediately pay if a judge were to impose fines at his sentencing, scheduled for April 6.

Hale claims in the filing in federal court that last year he had $6,000, but his father used the money to pay one of Hale’s previous attorneys. Since last August Hale has acted as his own lawyer.

Hale faces up to 40 years in prison, according to prosecutors, but Hale has argued he should only face up to eight years.

Hale has repeatedly said he’s innocent of asking his top security guard — really an FBI informant — to kill U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. A jury convicted him of the charge and with obstructing justice last year.

Hale believes the FBI set him up and says he never wanted any harm to come to Lefkow.

Hale, who is held in isolation in the Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown, asked to stay there for up to six months after sentencing so he can work on his appeal. He is also requesting that he eventually be placed in a Pekin prison where he’ll be close to his parents.