A judge is allowing two of four people charged in the videotaped beating of a mentally disabled man to be represented by private attorneys.
The Cook County Public Defender's office had requested that the office not be assigned to all four because doing so could pose a conflict of interest. On Monday Judge William H. Hooks appointed private attorneys for 18-year-old Tesfaye Cooper and 19-year-old Brittany Covington.
The state's attorney's office says the judge has yet to decide who will represent Jordan Hill and that Tanishia Covington will be represented by the public defender's office.
Prosecutors say the four people seen on a video posted live on Facebook beating and taunting the white victim have been charged with kidnapping and hate crimes. They have pleaded not guilty.
