An announced review of murder sentencing is “long overdue” says the mother of Barnaby Webber who was stabbed to death along with fellow student Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, 65, in Nottingham
The mother of Barnaby Webber, who was stabbed to death in Nottingham ,said a review of murder sentencing was “long overdue”.
The families of the victims of Valdo Calocane welcomed the review announcement. Calocane stabbed Barnaby and fellow student Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, as they returned from a night out in Nottingham in the early hours of June 13 last year, before killing 65-year-old Ian Coates.
Calocane was handed an indefinite hospital order in January after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The families branded it a “gross miscarriage of justice”. The Law Commission has now been asked to review the overall sentencing framework for murder and the law of homicide by the Government.
“Because of our dogged pursuit for justice, answers, accountability and change it appears as though some progress is being made,” said families who welcomed the review. Speaking to Sky News, Barnaby’s mum Emma Webber called Calocane a “murderer”, saying she would “never accept” manslaughter as the right charge for his “heinous, evil and monstrous crimes”.
Believing the review was “long overdue”, Ms Webber said that the law was stuck between an “arbitrary black and white, you’re either a cold-blooded murderer or, it’s manslaughter and that could be accidental”. She said all three victims’ families believed they had suffered a “huge miscarriage of justice” and that they “will never accept manslaughter and the use of the system to enable that to fit”.
Calocane “planned what he was doing” and “chose not to take [his] medication” she claimed. And she added: “We ended up in this, the most painful of situations following the most catastrophic tragedy that could ever befall any family.”
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “I fully recognise the concerns raised around homicide law and sentencing, but these are incredibly complex issues and previous tinkering is what has led to the current disparities, so it is right that the Law Commission takes a comprehensive look at it.”
The review has been asked for after another was made into domestic homicide sentencing by barrister Clare Wade. In the light of that review the Government said it is implementing two new statutory aggravating factors, meaning judges must consider stronger sentences for murders involving strangulation or when the killing is connected to the end of a relationship.
The changes for England and Wales are expected to come into force next year. It comes in response to issues raised by campaigners, including how diminished responsibility is considered and whether current sentencing rules properly reflect the seriousness of domestic murders.
