Fewer than half those charged in court with attempted murder were found guilty of the charge in the past decade – but not all defence lawyers find this statistic troubling.

Statistics show the police are charging people with attempted murder haphazardly

According to information given in Parliament last week, since 2002 only 80 of 198 people (40.4 per cent) accused of trying to kill someone were convicted.

The rest have either been acquitted or seen their charge converted into a lesser one, such as attempted grievous bodily harm.

In a few cases where people have been found guilty, the accused only received probation or a fine, suggesting the judge would have had to consider particular circumstances, perhaps that the alleged victim had seriously provoked the incident.

Some have interpreted the low rate of conviction as a sign that the police and the Attorney General are overusing the charge, which carries a maximum jail term of 30 years.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto argued there is “widespread abuse”.

“I have first hand experience and can say clearly that this charge is abused,” he said.

Of seven or eight people he defended on attempted murder charges over the years, only one was convicted, he said.

“In four of these cases, as happened recently with Sandro Chetcuti (originally accused of trying to kill GRTU director general Vince Farrugia), the charge was changed from attempted murder to inflicting grievous bodily harm.”

In the most “blatant” case, one client was charged with attempted murder after a fistfight.

“No weapons involved, no life-threatening injuries or any of that, just a couple of punches and he ended up having to defend himself against an attempted murder charge.”

The statistics showed police are charging people with attempted murder haphazardly, he argued, very often doing this to apply pressure and give themselves a better hand with jurors for sentencing.

His position aligns with that of MP and criminal lawyer Franco Debono, who asked brought the issue up in Parliament.

Dr Debono, who has been criticising Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici for months, has argued that the police and Attorney General sometimes engage in the bad practice of throwing serious charges at suspects in the hope that at least a lesser charge will stick.

There are borderline cases that the police do well to push through, but it is completely unacceptable for people to face attempted murder charges when it is manifestly not warranted. “These statistics support this view,” Dr Debono insisted.

But Steve Tonna Lowell, who worked at the Attorney General’s office before taking up private practice, argued this was an understandable practice balanced by how the judicial system works.

In fact, he argued the Attorney General’s decision to change a charge is intrinsic tothe speed with which police can get these cases to court.

“One thing to consider is that when police arraign someone for attempted murder, they usually do it straight away and don’t have two to three months to investigate as they might with, say, fraud or theft,” he pointed out.

This is why in a lot of these cases, charges are modified following the compilation of evidence.

When this is not done, it would mean the Attorney General believes it is possible to prove the intent necessary to secure a conviction.

There is a judicial process in place that is working- Joe Giglio

“It doesn’t mean that jurors will agree with the Attorney General’s assessment, but that is the way the legal system functions.

“However, from my experience in both shoes, I feel one can understand why the Attorney General would have moved a charge of attempted murder in the vast majority of cases.

“Naturally, you will come across cases here and there, including ones where I was involved, but there is also a question of opinion.”

Dr Tonna Lowell’s argument was echoed by veteran criminal lawyer Joe Giglio who said he was not surprised nor annoyed by the statistics.

“It confirms to me there is a judicial process in place that is working and confirms that, contrary to public perception, when a person is charged with a crime, it does not mean that he or she is automatically guilty,” he said.

He argued it was normal for police and the Attorney’s Office to make assessments on cases that would then be successfully contrasted in court by defence lawyers.

There will be some cases where people would have been made to go through the travails of defending themselves from such a serious charge unnecessarily.

Dr Giglio said: “However, my argument does not preclude the fact that people have to assume responsibility for the decisions they make.

“I know of one such case that I defended and in which the person in question decided to sue the Police Commissioner and Attorney General after being acquitted of an attempted murder charge.”

Dr Debono made a similar point, arguing that the overuse of such charges is probably prevalent in Malta because the culture of suing for damages is still weak.