ROCKETING numbers of rape and murder trials are being delayed as courts fail to get a grip on the Covid backlog, alarming stats show. A staggering 15 per cent of cases of sex assault against w…
She fumed: “Behind all of these statistics are hundreds of survivors of rape and sexual assault enduring further stress and trauma as their day in court is delayed, and families having to wait in agony for the monsters who preyed on their children to be convicted.
“And we know one thing for certain. The longer a trial is delayed – thanks to these late cancellations or the record court backlog – the more likely it is that cases will collapse entirely, the perpetrators of these crimes will walk free. “And the individuals and communities who have suffered at their hands will not get the justice, protection and security they deserve.”
She said ministers cannot simply dismiss the alarming figures as “the impact of Covid” because backlogs were beginning to hit courts before the pandemic struck.