One in seven people charged with murder and awaiting trial was released

The first survey of its kind by the Courts Service has revealed that at least 60 of the 455 people accused of murder were on the streets on January 31, while 35 out of 41 of those awaiting trial for manslaughter were bailed. Nearly one in seven people charged with murder and awaiting trial was released on bail last month, the Ministry of Justice has admitted.The revelation comes weeks after Gary Weddell murdered Traute Maxfield, his mother-in-law, before killing himself. At the time he was on bail charged with the murder of his wife. Opposition parties have called for a rethink of the bail laws but Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, revealed in his local newspaper that he was already considering tightening the rules. “There is already legislation on granting bail in homicide and rape cases where the defendant already has a conviction for a similar crime,” he said. “I am now looking at whether a similar sort of provision could be made to cover murder charges where this is the first such offence. I hope to make decisions fairly quickly on this,” he wrote in the Lancashire Telegraph.Gordon Brown has also told the Commons that he is looking again at the bail rules.
The figures come days after the Prison Service said that the jail population in England and Wales had reached a record 81,681 and declared the system to be full for the second time in eight months.
Despite having to put dozens of prisoners in court cells to house the overflow, the Ministry of Justice denied that there was any link between prison capacity and the bail figures. More than two thirds of those awaiting trial in a Crown Court were granted bail, according to the Ministry of Justice. That figure jumps to 85 per cent for those awaiting trial for manslaughter. A spokeswoman said that she did not have any comparative statistics and was unable to say whether the figure of 60 murder suspects on bail was unusually high. The ministry, which released the information in response to a freedom of information request, said that there may be more cases that have not been entered on their system. Nick Herbert, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “After Gary Weddell murdered his mother-in-law while out on bail, the Government claimed that it was unusual for bail to be granted to murder suspects. Now we discover the disturbing truth that a large number of people charged with murder were in fact free on bail at that time. “Tougher bail laws are needed to ensure that public safety comes first. What happened to the review announced by Gordon Brown, and does the Government plan to tighten up the law or not?”
One of those convicted last month at Chester Crown Court of kicking to death Gary Newlove, a 47-year-old sales manager, outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire, was also on bail. Adam Swellings, 19, from Crewe, had been bailed from custody only hours before the fatal attack. A statement from the Ministry of Justice said that the issue was for the courts to decide based on individual circumstances. “Courts may withhold bail if they are satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that, if released on bail the defendant would abscond, commit an offence or interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice. Analysis of court records suggests that, in most cases where a murder or manslaughter defendant is granted bail, there will have been a period of remand in custody before bail is granted.” The ministry said that bail cases where the defendant is charged with murder or manslaughter often have more stringent conditions attached. These include residence and curfew conditions, financial guarantees and the requirement to report to a police station regularly and surrender travel documents. It also suggested that the charges may change or be discontinued. “It should be recognised that not all of the defendants counted in this table will necessarily stand trial for murder or manslaughter.” Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, spoke out against the latest rise in the prison population at the weekend. She told The Observer: “Prisoners are getting very frustrated; staff are struggling to survive the day. That’s not a good recipe for running prisons. It’s a very risky situation.”
Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, told the BBC: “We currently have the lowest morale that we have ever had. And we have total mismanagement by the Ministry of Justice.
“The lack of investment is putting in danger everyone who works in prisons and is serving sentences.”
An investigation by The People newspaper, monitoring extradition cases for five weeks, found that 82 out of 189 detainees were granted bail.

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