Not public defender, and not America, but I can share my two bits, why not. blah blah blah not ur lawyer not advice etc etc
It would suck fucking big time. I'm not going to get into the particularities of the case, cuz as far as criminal cases go, I've worked with fellas who were in even more legally indefensible positions than Chris is in right now; the fact that the best optionis to admit guilt and hope for a nice deal isn't even that bad from a lawyer perspective, that is just the job. You don't expect to win everything.
The main problem is Chris as an individual, and having to work with him, oh my god I'd drink myself to death. I've worked with clients who were absolute boneheads before (one who comes to mind was this dude embroiled in vexatious litigation against his wife. love that guy), and it is the most unplleasant and constantly baffling experience ever. The layperson doesn't know the law, and oftentimes - after some googling - thinks they know it better than their lawyers, and because they essentially can determine the trajectory of their case, they'll kneecap themselves so often. Chris no doubt will be the kind of client with that uncanny 6th sense for making the decisions most prejudicial to their case. That said, I highly doubt Chris would insist going to trial
And then comes the client interactions; imagine talking to Chris to try and gauge the exact series of events, and timeline and the approach one should take. At this point, most of the sentences Chris constructs can barely be considered english; imagine some 50 year old PD trying to decipher what the fuck a "magichan sonichu" is, or being told that "the CPU goddesses" led Chris to Barb. I've never worked with mentally ill clients, so no doubt there are other lawyers can deal with it better than I could, but safe to imagine that for most, it would be a nightmare.
On the bright side, it would make for one hell of a weird story to tell down the line.