The sentencing of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane has been upheld by senior judges, ruling that it was not “unduly lenient”.
Calocane, aged 32, received an indefinite hospital order for the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates, as well as the attempted murder of three others in June of the previous year.
Accepted guilty pleas from the attacker came after medical evidence revealed his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. The sentencing judge remarked that Calocane would likely be detained at a high-security hospital for the remainder of his life.
The Attorney General, Victoria Prentis, referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal in February, contending that it was excessively lenient.
During last week’s hearing, lawyers argued that Calocane should receive a “hybrid” life sentence, suggesting that he should initially undergo treatment for his paranoid schizophrenia before serving the remainder of his sentence in prison. However, this proposal was dismissed by the panel comprising Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis, and Mr. Justice Garnham at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Calocane’s sentencing in January stemmed from the fatal stabbings of 19-year-old students Mr. Webber and Ms. O’Malley-Kumar, along with 65-year-old school caretaker Mr. Coates, on June 13th of the previous year. Following the murder of Mr. Coates, Calocane stole his van and subsequently struck three pedestrians before being apprehended.
The families of the victims have expressed discontent with Calocane’s sentence. Emma Webber, the mother of Mr. Webber, stated in January that “true justice has not been served”, while James Coates, the son of Mr. Coates, lamented that the killer had “got away with murder”.
The Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction was restricted to examining whether the sentence handed down was unduly lenient based on the evidence presented to the sentencing judge at the time, without the capacity to alter the offenses for which Calocane was convicted or to consider any new evidence pertaining to the case.
