People in Nottingham are paying tribute to the victims of last year’s knife attacks as they lay flowers outside the Nottingham Council House. However, the grieving mother of one of the victims expresses her disappointment with the legal system as the killer receives an indefinite order to be detained in a high-security hospital instead of being jailed for murder.
On June 13th last year, 19-year-old Barnaby Webber, 19-year-old Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and 65-year-old Ian Coates were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane. After the attacks, Calocane attempted to kill three others by ramming his van into them.
Calocane, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, recently pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility. As a result, he was sent to a high-security hospital rather than facing charges for murder. This decision by the court has sparked outrage among the families of the victims, who believe that justice has not been served.
The British media has described Calocane’s crimes as some of the darkest in the country’s history. According to Leo McKinstry in The Sun, his journey through the legal system reflects a series of negligence, incompetence, and leniency that has denied justice to the victims’ families.
During the sentencing outside Nottingham Crown Court, James, the son of Ian Coates, expressed his frustration, stating that the killer had made a mockery of the system and he has got away with murder. Emma, the mother of Barnaby Webber, shared a similar sentiment, admitting that she regrets trusting the legal system and feeling ill-prepared for the acceptance of Calocane’s manslaughter plea.
The sentencing has left the bereaved families with more questions than answers. Sky News presenter Sarah-Jane Mee points out that they were let down by a system that was supposed to keep them and those with mental illness safe. She highlights the inadequacies of stretched NHS mental health provision and a police system that often fails to work in harmony with it.
Mr. Justice Turner, while handing out the sentence, stated that he was confident in the conclusion reached by five distinguished consultant psychiatrists who assessed Calocane’s mental state. He declared that Calocane would likely be detained in a high-security hospital for life. However, under the Mental Health Act, Calocane is entitled to a review of his mental health every three years, which could potentially lead to his release if doctors deem him to have recovered.
Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has resisted calls for a public inquiry into the handling of the case, despite support from Labour leader Keir Starmer. Wayne Birkett, one of Calocane’s van attack victims, expressed his dismay at the lack of immediate plans for a public inquiry.
Although the Attorney General’s office has received a submission arguing that the sentence was unduly lenient, it is unlikely to consider whether the correct charge was pursued in Calocane’s case. Nevertheless, NHS England plans to conduct a separate independent review into Calocane’s contact with mental health services, a process which is expected to take several months.
The ruling has exposed the flaws in the legal and mental health systems, leaving the families of the victims grappling with a sense of injustice and a lack of closure. As they pay tribute to their loved ones, they call for a thorough examination of the case and a consideration of the failings that allowed these tragic events to occur.
