GUILTY PLEAS JUST TO END REMAND HELL

Defendants take drastic steps as court backlog grows

- GERALDINE McKELVIE

PRISONERS awaiting trial are ready to plead guilty just to flee 22-hour Covid lockdowns in jail.

Around half a million cases are waiting to be heard as the pandemic makes an existing backlog even worse.

And the crisis means some defendants are being kept on remand in prison for much longer than normal.

Pleading guilty normally means a reduced sentence because it avoids the expense and trauma of a trial.

Barrister Tomas McGarvey, of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “The pandemic has shone a spotlight on what was already a massive problem.

“Pretty much every barrister I know has seen defendants asking, ‘If I plead now, will I be released?’