the little **** who stabbed the teacher

Whether or not the victim gains closure is never a factor for whether an early guilty plea is entered (unless the defendant is guilty and has the conscience not to put the victim/victim's family through the ordeal of a trial).

The evidential process, the process of giving the defendant a fair trial, is never dependant on the grief of the victim or victim's family.

There is a presumption in law of innocent until proven guilty - no matter how compelling the evidence.

In this case there may be a requirement for lenghty and detailed psychiatric reports - and I can imagine that it is in the interests of both prosecution and defence that such reports are available as soon as possible (albeit they cannot be rushed - particularly if there has been no previous history psychiatric diagnosis).

This being said, November does sound a long way away to me, I can only imagine three reasons - psychiatric reports, a desire for the trial not to be held in the immediate aftermath of media fury (therefore making it easier to find an impartial jury), and finally court congestion and the availability of an appropriate defence team (they can't just give this to a junior, they'll need to have a QC).

In the last seven days a judge kicked a case out (dismissed it entirely) because an appropriate defence could not be afforded through the provision of legal aid within a reasonable amount of time.

Expect more of the same if this government continues to get away with carving up legal aid in the fashion they are doing.

Legal aid is a right mess now, and it is threating the justice process for both the guilty and the innocent. The CPS are no better off either. Poor pay and conditions and wafer thin resources.

No surprise then that cases are struggling to get to trial within a reasonable period. Expect some serious miscarriages, cracked trials, and perverse out comes as a consequence.