Ministers are being urged to review how homicide is categorised and the impact of the partial defence of diminished responsibility after the 2023 Nottingham attacks case.
An independent review into how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) handled the case against Valdo Calocane found no wrongdoing, but has recommended that the government look at categorising homicide in three tiers, as opposed to the current two-tier system of murder and manslaughter.
Calocane killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and seriously injured three others, in a spate of violence across Nottingham in the early hours of 13 June last year.
Although initially charged with murder, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempted murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, and was sentenced to a hospital order.
The victims’ families strongly criticised the CPS for accepting Calocane’s guilty pleas for manslaughter, saying they had been “rushed, hastened and railroaded” into the decision, and that “true justice had not been served”.
A report by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), published on Monday, found the CPS complied with the law and met its obligations to the victims’ families.
However, it suggested the government should consider introducing a three-tier system for homicide, which would include second-degree murder, with a discretionary life sentence, for those convicted of murder with diminished responsibility.
This was previously recommended by the Law Commission in 2006 and rejected by parliament.
The report also found the CPS could have improved its engagement with the families, who felt “unsupported and secondary” to the process.
It stated the CPS said it had “consulted” families throughout, a term which may have led to misunderstanding as the CPS is only obliged to inform or explain its decision.
HMCPSI’s chief inspector, Anthony Rogers, said: “It is unimaginable having to deal with the death of a loved one under such horrific circumstances, but having to deal with the criminal justice system at a time of heartbreak and grief adds a further dimension of challenge.
“To better support victims and increase public trust, we call on the government to consider amending the homicide law, review the support provided to victims of crime in serious cases such as this, and provide greater clarity about the role of victims in the criminal justice system.”
The report also criticised the CPS for not treating all families equally throughout the process, after finding the sons of Ian Coates were not informed of a number of meetings and were “aggrieved and disappointed” by this.
The report stated: “We are aware that our findings will be disappointing for the families. They were clear when we met with them that they felt let down, that they had no voice, and that they had been treated as secondary parties in the criminal justice system.
“This case brings into stark relief the disconnect that can exist between the reality of being in the system and what support there is available.
“In this case, we conclude that the CPS charging decision was correct, that the acceptance of the pleas of not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter was correct and generally the CPS met their obligations set out in the victims’ code.”
