FAMILIES of the three Nottingham attack victims yesterday demanded a law change to stop killers “getting away with murder”.
They said it was too easy for Valdo Calocane to downgrade his murder charge to manslaughter on mental health grounds.
2
The killer stabbed to death students Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65.
He was given an indefinite hospital order in January.
Emma Webber, Barnaby’s mum, said: “Until the law changes in this country the diminished responsibility charge and plea means that murderers can get away with murder.
“There’s a clear part in the review that says the 2006 Law Commission recommended the law should change to bring in degrees of murder, so there is murder in the first, second and manslaughter degree.
“It clearly says he (Calocane) would have been tried as a murderer, which he clearly is.
“We have never disputed Calocane’s mental health problem but what I would say is that at the moment in this country, if you commit murder and you’ve got mental health issues then it’s very unlikely that you’re actually going to be tried for murder and it’s abhorrent that it can be downgraded to manslaughter just because it is how the law is stated.”
It came after the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate yesterday ruled the CPS did not fail in accepting Calocane’s manslaughter conviction.
The inspectorate will ask ministers to look at “grading” murder categories to close the “diminished responsibility loophole”.
