by The mother of a teenage girl whose lung was punctured when she was repeatedly stabbed has called for the justice system to be reformed after the attacker walked free from court.
Talseem Mulhall’s daughter Tiana was told she was “lucky to be alive” by a doctor after the attack in which a pair of scissors plunged into the 17-year-old’s back five times.
Lord Goldsmith, a former government minister, said the case – which has dragged on for more than three years due to delays – is “yet another example of a UK justice system where it seems that justice cannot to provide”.
Ms Mulhall – 53, from Richmond-upon-Thames, in Lord Goldsmith’s former constituency, said: “I’m originally from Yemen, and I can honestly say that there would be a better chance of justice.”
The attacker, Esme Lacey, was charged immediately after the attack in November 2020 but was only sentenced last month.
By the time the case was over, three different juries had been empaneled and dismissed, there had been a change of judge, and courts and sentencing dates had been rescheduled twice.
Lacey was finally sentenced at a makeshift court in the Grand Connaught Rooms, a party and conference center in London’s Covent Garden. There was no physical presence from the prosecution in the courtroom, with Crown counsel appearing via video link as he said he had been told about the hearing the day before.
‘It’s like a joke’
Ms Mulhall, an artist, said: “It’s amazing that there can be so many juries, delays, adjournments and different courts for one case. And that the final sentence can be held instead of a party without any physical presence from the prosecution. But it is no joke. The delay has made the trauma of the attack even worse for my daughter.”
She also said that she took pictures of her daughter’s wounds in the hospital and that the police used these as evidence. “I can’t believe they didn’t take their own pictures.”
She said she found two other wounds on Tiana’s head from the attack – which happened in New Malden, south-west London – but these were not considered evidence.
When the case finally came to trial, in September last year, Lacey, 20, was cleared at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, so she was sentenced for pleading earlier guilty of the lesser charge. of GBH without resolution.
She and a co-defendant – Amina Aden, from Hounslow, west London, who was 18 at the time of the attack – said they intended to use the scissors to cut off Tiana’s hair. Aden pleaded not guilty to GBH with intent and was cleared.
Lacey argued in court that the wounds were caused in a struggle that occurred after she and Aden tried to cut the hair.
‘The case was a shambles from the start’
In a post-mortem statement, Tiana said the attack – which also dislocated one of her shoulders – left her in a wheelchair for four weeks and on crutches for 12.
Lord Goldsmith said: “Tiana will carry the scars, both physical and mental, of this senseless and barbaric attack for the rest of her life. But her treatment of the criminal justice system was also appalling.”
He added: “The case was a shambles from the start, with the police failing to collect basic evidence, court trials being postponed several times, and the trial itself not taking place until three years after the attack.”
Lacey’s ex-boyfriend attacked Tiana in the street and when she was taken to hospital, she was told that if one of the injured had been an inch further away she would have been paralyzed.
At the sentencing, Recorder Nigel Sangster KC called the attack – which he said was sparked by a “stupid” argument – “vicious” and “cruel”. However, he gave attendant Lacey a two-year suspended sentence as because he said the attack “contradicted” the Probation Service’s pre-sentence report on her. Lacey was also ordered to complete 20 days of “rehabilitation activity” and pay Tiana £600 compensation .
Lord Goldsmith said: “Despite being guilty of GBH, the sentence handed down to Tiana’s attacker makes a mockery of justice.”
He added: “For Tiana and her family, this has been life-changing.” Tiana has been told she will need therapy for the rest of her life.
The appeal was dismissed
After the sentence, Tiana wrote to the Attorney General’s Office seeking an appeal against the sentence on the grounds that it was too lenient. But she received a reply saying that a GBH conviction without intent was not serious enough to be considered.
“If the prosecution had done a proper job the conviction would have been more serious,” said Tiana. “Also, I could die from that attack, in which case the conviction would be manslaughter or even murder.”
Ms Mulhall said: “Tiana was not given any justice. We are just one family, but if this is how the system works across the country, justice must always be denied to hundreds – even thousands – of victims and families.”
Tiana said: “My life has been ruined, and now I’ve waited more than three years to find out that whoever ruined it will have no consequences.”
After the attack, Aden and Lacey – who are from Putney, south-west London – were granted bail and Tiana says the only time Lacey will be in custody is for a few hours after her arrest and for court appearances.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice said that he does not comment on individual cases but, in relation to the delays, he mentioned the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic and the 2022 barristers’ strike, and how, from 2020 onwards, measures such as the use of remote hearings and “Nightingale” courts such as Holborn Crown Court were introduced to “speed up justice for victims and improve the justice system”.
