Murders, sex offences top cases before Home Circuit Court

Murder and sex offence cases continue to account for the bulk of matters before the Home Circuit Court in Kingston.

Speaking at a ceremony this morning for the opening of the Easter Term, senior deputy director of public prosecutions Jeremy Taylor disclosed that of the 686 matters before the court, murders account for 370 cases and 224 for sexual offences.

Of the sex charges, rape continues to dominate with 112 cases followed by sexual intercourse with a person under 16 with 50 cases and buggery with 30 cases.

Meanwhile, based on the statistics compiled by the DPP's office, of the total number of cases to be heard this term, 659 of them are matters which were transferred from the Hillary Term while 27 of the cases are down for sentencing.

Taylor, in the meanwhile, welcomed the return of jury trials noting that a number of the defendants have opted for this avenue.

He said the DPP's office remains committed to breaking the back of the long and daunting case list.

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