A review into the sentence of the killer of Barnaby Webber is set to take place after he was handed down a hospital order which was branded “unduly lenient.”
Valdo Calocane, who stabbed to death former Taunton School pupil Barnaby Webber in Nottingham last year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was confined to a psychiatric hospital after he was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
However the sentencing decision will now be referred to the Court of Appeal after the Attorney General - the government’s top legal advisor - intervened on what she branded a lenient sentence.
Commenting, Attorney General Victoria Prentis said: "Valdo Calocane's crimes were horrific and have shocked a nation. He brutally killed three innocent people, and violently attacked three other victims. Their experiences will stay in our minds for a long time to come.
"This was a case that evoked strong feelings amongst so many people and it was no surprise that I received so many referrals under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to consider the hospital order handed to Calocane.”
Calocane also killed Nottingham University student Grace O’Malley-Kumar and school caretaker Ian Coates when he went on a rampage in the city last June.
Families of the victims were reportedly “very glad” that Calocane’s sentence was set to undergo a review.
Local MP Rebecca Pow welcomed the Attorney General’s decision.
Ms Pow said: “This is the right decision and I am grateful to the Attorney General for her swift assessment of this tragic case.
“The Attorney General has agreed that the sentence imposed against Valdo Calocane for his truly abhorrent crimes in Nottingham last year was unduly lenient and will be referred to the Court of Appeal.
“Calocane brutally murdered three innocent people, including one of my constituents and violently attacked three others.
“The impact this has had on all of the families and friends affected is unimaginable.
“I hope that when this reaches the Court of Appeal, it will provide the appropriate justice that they have been calling for."