Isn’t our legal system too important to be left in the hands of lawyers?

Thomas Cope, now 55 – was first jailed for rape for four years in 1976. He received eight years for rape in 1979, five years in 1985 for indecent assault and another ten years for attempted rape in 1990. He is currently serving a life sentence for attacking a 19-year-old woman on April 25, 2006 when he tied up his teenage victim with a computer mouse cord and raped her twice before letting her go after an eight hour ordeal. He will qualify to be considered for parole in 4 – 5 years.

Meanwhile in a publicly funded county court case, the former debt collector sued Melody Goymer for clearing his flat – where he raped his latest victim – following his arrest. The court ruled grandmother Mrs Goymer, 60, had unlawfully terminated Cope’s tenancy by failing to seek a court order for possession of the flat in Hailsham, Sussex. She said: ‘We had no contact from him and didn’t know where he was so we used a pass key to get into the flat which we found in a terrible condition. ‘It looked as if he had done a runner and just left. There was no electricity and the food in the fridge freezer had rotted away.’

Cope was awarded £750 and ordered Mrs Goymer to return his goods which she had put in storage at a cost of £60/week within 14 days during the hearing on Thursday. Additionally The amount of costs to be awarded to Cope is to be decided at a later date after the judge said the £13,000 claimed by his lawyers was ‘awfully high’.

What do you feel about the government funding this rapists prosecution of his landlord to the tune of £13,000?