There are 100 Cases Waiting to be Tried, and the Backlog Means it Can Take at Least a Year for Cases to Make it to Trial.
As reported by ABC 11:
Wake County is dealing with a backlog of murder cases. There are 100 cases waiting to be tried, and the backlog means it can take at least a year for cases to make it to trial.
"It is nearly impossible for us to ever catch up," said Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
Freeman said as Wake County's population has exploded, the murder rate crept upward as well. Although the murder rate remains low based on population, it has nearly doubled in the last 10 years.
Her office is trying roughly 50 homicides annually. Freeman said her office is funded to handle about half that many.
"You're trying to get those cases through a system that traditionally was built and funded to handle a community to 25-30 homicides a year," explained Freeman.
She said this is not a problem unique to Wake County.
Last week, Freeman was in our nation's capital as the issue has made it to the forefront of the national conversation. She was part of a delegation for the National District Attorney Association.
"We've seen coming out of COVID a lot of turnover within office, and we have a lot of new people who are learning how to best handle cases," Freeman said.
A survey was done not that long ago on how many additional Wake County prosecutors are needed for the caseload.
"On any given day, we are operating at a deficiency of 13 Assistant District Attorneys," Freeman said.
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