D Thursday, December 17, 2009 METRO RapeCrisisNetworkIreland(RCNI) last week revealed just one in three rapes reported to garda make it to court and said authorities blamed a lack of evidence as the main reason for dropping prosecutions. The study showed cases where wom- en were attacked by someone they know are also less likely to be prose- cuted than assaults in public by a stranger, despite being more common. Mr Hamilton added that a pilot scheme to give rea- sons for a decision not to prosecute in cases where there has been a fatality, which was due to end in January, may be extended as reaction to the scheme had been overwhelmingly positive. The DPP maintained it took less than two weeks to issue a direction in half of the files it was handed, with another third dealt with within three months. A demure-looking Madonna brings her daughter Lourdes to the New York premiere of the movie Nine Picture: Getty Causing a Commotion third of all suspects avoid trialCOURT cases were dropped against more than 3,000 suspected criminals last year because of insufficient evi- dence, official figures reveal. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said another 284 people escaped the law over concerns about the public interest. James Hamilton stated a record 16,140 files were received by his office during 2008, with the vast ma- jority relating to criminal cases. Of 11,274 criminal files examined, a third were sent to the District Court and another third were prosecuted in the Circuit or Cen- tral Criminal Court. However, he directed that one in three cases be dropped with 77 per cent of those found to have insuffi- cient evidence. Others were dismissed thanks to the juvenile diversion programme or be- cause of expired time limits, undue delay or sympathetic grounds. BY SARAH STACK Not enough evidence in most dropped cases Husband still loves his throat-slit wife A MAN whose wife tried to kill him by slitting his throat after plying him with a sex drug said yesterday he still loved her and wanted her freed from prison. Joanne Hale was having an affair with a married man she met online before giving her husband Peter a sex drug and taking him to a woodland in Bristol last December. Hale, 39, was jailed for six years for attempted murder yesterday. Passengers stuck as airline closes THOUSANDS of flights were cancelled and holiday plans abandoned last night with the collapse of an airline. The Globespan Group, owners of Flyglobespan, went into administration with the loss of 800 jobs and all flights ceasing last night. Around 5,000 passengers had booked to travel with the Scottish carrier in the coming days. browse tHis THE European Union has dropped anti-trust charges against Microsoft after the company agreed to give Windows users a choice of up to 12 other web browsers. Regulators can fine Microsoft up to ten per cent of yearly global turnover without seeking evidence if the company doesnt stick to this commitment. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html