If an accused pleads not guilty to rape in the Central Criminal Court he has a two-to-one chance of not being convicted. But two-thirds of those accused of rape or sexual assault (which includes child abuse) plead guilty.
The opposite is the case if a person pleads not guilty to murder. In murder cases which go to a full trial before a jury the accused has a two-to-one chance of being convicted. More than half of those accused of murder go to a full jury trial following a not-guilty plea.
A survey of cases heard in the Central Criminal Court between January and December last year shows that of the 26 rape cases which went to a jury (because of a not guilty plea) 17, or two-thirds, resulted in the accused not being found guilty.
The survey, which gives the total number of murder and rape cases heard and their outcomes, was compiled by the registrar as part of an examination of the work of the court.
The survey also showed that of the 17 cases of murder or manslaughter heard by a jury, 11 ended in a guilty verdict.
Only about a third of rape cases end up before a jury. In 63 cases out of the 98 which came before the court, the accused pleaded guilty. A small number of cases ended in a decision not to proceed with the prosecution.
Sentences for rape and sexual assault ranged from three to 12 years, though there were two life sentences. One was imposed on the former nun, Ms Nora Wall, whose conviction for raping a girl in a children's home was later overturned when the DPP did not oppose her appeal. Subsequently, it was stated she was deemed innocent.
The other life term was imposed on a man who was sentenced last July for raping his former girlfriend. However, Mr Justice Carney suspended all but eight years, less statutory remission, of the sentence. He said in court afterwards that life sentences had been advocated as a way of controlling the behaviour of the defendant.
Although there is a wide variation in sentences, as there is in the circumstances of the cases, most convictions end in a sentence in the five- to 10-year range.
The sentences do not appear to be a lot shorter when the accused pleads guilty. But generally at least one year of the sentence is suspended when he (with the exception of Ms Wall, all those accused of rape last year were male) does so.
Although some campaigners have argued in favour of mandatory sentences for rape, concern has been expressed that this would discourage the accused from making a guilty plea.
If there was no advantage in terms of sentence from pleading guilty, many more cases than the existing third would go to trial, resulting in much more delay and more trauma for the victims. Given the volume of cases coming before the court, if a case is put back it goes back for at least a year.
The figures also show a dramatic increase in the number of rape cases being heard by the court over the past four years. Between 1996 and 1999, the cases disposed of more than doubled, from 48 to 98.
The rise in the number of cases coming into court was even more dramatic, from 48 cases being received in 1996 to 130 in 1999. This does not include the very small number of cases referred back to the court by the Court of Criminal Appeal. Mr Justice Carney, who presides in the Central Criminal Court, has warned that the volume of cases is spiralling out of control.
The number of murders dealt with by the court has also risen, but much less dramatically. In 1996, there were 25 murder cases received by the court and 23 dealt with. In 1997, this rose to 28 received and 19 dealt with. In 1998, 29 were received and 20 dealt with, and last year 33 were received and 29 dealt with.
In 1996, there were a total of 73 cases, rape and murder, received by the court and 71 processed to the end. In 1999, there was a total of 163 cases received and 127 finally disposed of.