Nottingham attacks families welcome homicide review

The families of the three people killed in the Nottingham attacks have welcomed a move to review homicide law and the sentencing framework for murder.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in June 2023.

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was given a hospital order for manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility in January.

The Law Commission announced on Friday it had accepted a request by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood to begin undertaking a review in early 2025.

The independent body, which recommends when reform to law is needed, has agreed to revisit and update an 18-year-old report on suggested changes to homicide law.

Published in 2006, the report called on the government to consider changing homicide, currently categorised by two tiers of murder and manslaughter, into three tiers – first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter.

Following a request from the Lord Chancellor, the body will now look further into how homicide is categorised and the impact of diminished responsibility, while considering a wider set of issues related to murder sentencing.

The commission said "changes in the law and society have made a new review particularly timely".

The victims' families had previously called for a change in homicide law, with Mr Webber's mother Emma saying "murderers will get away with murder".

A joint statement from the families welcomed news of the review, adding: "Our laws, practises and processes are failing, they are flawed and archaic.

"Had our laws changed, as was first proposed almost 20 years ago, [the] outcome would have been very different.

"As it stands, we are forced to endure additional trauma in the knowledge that this individual, as well as being in receipt of full benefits, may very well be released back into our community."

Prof Penney Lewis, commissioner for criminal law, added: "I am pleased that the lord chancellor has asked us to conduct this review and revisit homicide law.

"The public are rightly concerned that homicides are correctly categorised, for example as murder or manslaughter, and sentenced appropriately.

"We will review homicide offences and defences, and sentencing for murder, to ensure that the homicide regime operates fairly and justly."

In a letter to families, Alex Davies-Jones MP, the minister for victims and violence against women and girls, said the review would consider issues raised by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), which looked into how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) handled the case.

The HMCPSI report urged the government to consider making changes to homicide law, and revealed that the families said police led them to believe the attacks were "a clear case of murder".

Inspectors concluded prosecutors were right to accept manslaughter pleas, but could have handled the case better.

Calocane stabbed Mr Webber and Ms O'Malley-Kumar to death in Ilkeston Road, before later going on to kill Mr Coates in Magdala Road.

A court heard he had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attacks.

On 28 November 2023, the 32-year-old admitted a charge of manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder.

The CPS announced on 23 January it had accepted the pleas, on the basis of diminished responsibility, and he was sentenced to a hospital order days later.

The judge, Mr Justice Turner, told Calocane he remained a danger and the sentence would "result in you being detained in a high-security hospital, very probably for the rest of your life".

A detailed timeline for the review will be published in the new year with findings submitted to the lord chancellor in spring 2025.