Watchdog calls for murder law review amid outrage over Nottingham triple killer’s manslaughter pleas

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But, in a report published on Monday, His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate called for the government to consider reviewing how homicide is categorised and highlighted areas where the CPS could have handled the case “better”. “Because it seems to me that you can’t, and that’s impossible for us to understand.” open image in gallery James Coates, son of Ian Coates, Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber and Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of Grace O’Malley-Kumar Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, meaning he did not stand trial for murder. Inspectors found that if the 2006 recommendations had been accepted and implemented, “the unlawful killings in this tragic case would have been categorised as murder, albeit second-degree murder.” open image in gallery Valdo Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order It also called for the government to look at whether the culpability of the person who commits murder should be reduced to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. “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.” Julian Hendy, the director of the Hundred Families charity that supports the relatives of the victims of mentally ill killers, described the findings as “very disappointing” and questioned whether the watchdog had “critically evaluated the evidence”.