The attorney general is currently evaluating whether or not judges should examine the sentencing of Valdo Calocane, the Nottingham murderer, after receiving a submission claiming that it may be excessively lenient.
Calocane, a 32-year-old who is known as Adam Mendes, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges of Barnaby Webber, 19, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old school caretaker. However, he has admitted to manslaughter based on his diminished responsibility due to paranoid schizophrenia.
He confessed to trying to kill three individuals by running them over with a van. Following his guilty pleas, Calocane was given an indefinite sentence in a highly secure hospital by the Nottingham crown court on Thursday.
The relatives of the three individuals who were killed have responded with anger to the verdict and have accused the prosecutors of accepting a charge of manslaughter instead of pursuing a charge of murder.
The office of the attorney general, Victoria Prentis, confirmed that they had received a referral stating that the sentence was too lenient.
The cabinet minister has 28 days after sentencing to consider the request and determine if the case should be sent to the court of appeal to assess the appropriateness of the sentence. A single referral is sufficient to initiate this procedure.
Emma Webber, the mother of Webber, expressed disapproval towards the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) choice to lower the charge from murder.
The attorney general’s evaluation is not expected to address the possibility of whether the appropriate charge was pursued in the case of Calocane.
If anyone or any organization believes a sentence is unfairly lenient, they have the right to request a review.
Calocane, who studied mechanical engineering at Nottingham University, stabbed O’Malley-Kumar and Webber in the early hours of 13 June last year when they were walking home from a night out.
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The Mental Health Act was used to section Calocane four times before the killings occurred. Despite attempts to reach out after his discharge from the hospital in 2022, there was no response.
During the attacks, there was an existing warrant for Calocane’s arrest. He had failed to show up in court nine months prior for an alleged assault on a police officer while he was being detained.
Source: theguardian.com
