Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Covid danger in St Lucia’s tiny courts puts stop to murder trials

Covid danger in St Lucia’s tiny courts puts stop to murder trials

Ninety wait for justice as infection controls prevent juries from sitting for two years

St Lucia has not been able to hold a homicide trial for two years, because courtrooms are too small to safely seat a jury under Covid rules, the Caribbean nation’s director of public prosecutions has said.

The build-up of untried cases is one of the most extreme examples of the damaging impact of the pandemic on access to justice globally. Rule of law has deteriorated around the world, the World Justice Project found. Three-quarters of the countries evaluated for its Rule of Law Index experienced a decline in 2021.

In St Lucia, efforts to control Covid have contributed to a backlog of people waiting for trial, even as the murder rate has risen to record levels, the DPP, Daasrean Greene, told an online event this month marking the start of the legal year in the Eastern Caribbean States.

“My office has not been able to embark on a murder trial since January of 2020,” he told senior judges, magistrates and lawyers and other legal officials from across the region. “There are over 90 persons awaiting trial for the offence of murder, while we continue to struggle with the difficulty of finding appropriate housing for our courts.”

Physical distancing rules meant none of the courtrooms could accommodate the number of jurors required to try offences of murder, he added. Greene’s office did not respond to requests for comment on future plans for prosecution in St Lucia.

The first district court in Castries, St Lucia, where no murder trials have taken place for two years due to Covid restrictions .


The country is in a fifth wave of Covid-19, and was last week added to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “avoid travel” list. Since the pandemic began, there have been nearly 19,000 infections and more than 340 deaths in a population of fewer than 200,000 people.

St Lucia had struggled with courtroom infrastructure before the pandemic. It does not have a central judicial building, with courts set up in locations including a shopping mall, according to a UN report. “Courts are scattered around the city in inconvenient locations,” it said. “Among other problems, this presents logistical problems for lawyers juggling cases in civil and criminal courts.

“Security, size and other concerns surrounding repurposed court buildings led to protracted suspensions of cases as recently as 2018, with the shutdown in St Lucia contributing to an over 50% reduction in the number of cases heard.”

Covid-19 has turned those difficulties into insoluble problems for St Lucia and serious challenges elsewhere. Neighbouring St Vincent went several months without holding jury trials because of distancing rules.

“The pandemic has been devastating to the criminal justice system in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States,” said Dame Janice M Pereira, the chief justice of the Eastern Caribbean supreme court, who chaired the gathering.

“Jury trials have been stalled in many of our member states and territories, due mostly to our inability to provide the required physical distancing protocols for a jury in many of our courtrooms.”

However, there had been some benefits from the pandemic including an embrace of digital technology that would, she hoped, improve the courts’ accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness.

“In just over the past year we have seen the use of digital platforms and other innovations becoming significant and essential features of our court system,” she said.

“As COVID-19 lingers on and even beyond the pandemic, digitally driven courts will be critical to the continued administration of justice … There is no turning back,” she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
×