The justice system came under sharp criticism last Friday when Supreme Court judge Lennox Campbell discovered that two men had been languishing in custody for the last four years without a date being set for their trial.

The men, Joel Brown and Lance Mathias, were arrested and charged in August 2004 after they were accused of committing two murders the previous month.

Prosecutor Kathy Pyke said one of the problems faced was unpreparedness on the part of the defence.

"The court has a responsibility to see to it that the cases are tried expeditiously," the judge remarked. "Four years is terrible; I can't think of any other word."

He also referred to the United Kingdom Privy Council's ruling in the Pratt and Morgan case, which resulted in many death-penalty convictions being commuted to life sentences.

The judge advised Pyke to speak to the lawyers involved so that a trial date could be set when the men return to the Home Circuit Court on March 11. "This case has dragged on for too long," the judge said.

The judge also criticised the practice of a large number of cases being set for mention week after week, without trial dates being fixed. He said the cases were only cl**ttering the court list.

Late start

Lawyers and police officers who turned up at the Home Circuit Court Friday had to wait more than two hours before a judge was available to preside over the cases set for mention. The judge who was scheduled to preside was ill.

When the court resumed at 12:30 p.m., prosecutor Dahlia Findlay apologised for the late start, saying it was unavoidable.

In response, Justice Campbell said, "Something should have been put in place to stop something like this from happening. This is not unavoidable."