Why forcing Lucy Letby to face her victims is not as easy as people want
The mum of a murdered nine-year-old girl has welcomed new legislation to force killers to attend their sentencing hearings.
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What's happening? The mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel has welcomed new legislation to force killers to attend their sentencing hearings - though some lawyers are not convinced it will work.
On Wednesday, the government promised new rules to force serious offenders to attend court, with prime minister Rishi Sunak calling it “unacceptable” that some criminals have refused to face their victims.
Cheryl Korbel said she hoped her daughter Olivia Pratt-Korbel would be proud of her family after they helped change the law in the wake of her killing.
Her murderer, Thomas Cashman, who was handed a 42-year prison term in April 2023, refused to attend his sentencing which meant he did not hear her victim impact statement.
Last week, a jury convicted Lucy Letby of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more while working in the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016.
She also refused to appear in court and, amid anger from the victims’ families at her refusal, the judge told Letby she would be provided with copies of his remarks and the personal statements of the parents.
The killers of Zara Aleena and Sabina Nessa also refused to stand in the dock.
Read more: Criminals will be forced into dock to face sentencing (The Telegraph)
'For every family that’s gone through it’
Cheryl Korbel has welcomed the proposed change in sentencing legislation after campaigning to get the law reviewed following her daughter’s murder.
She told ITV News: "I just hope she’s proud of what we’ve done.
"At the end of the day, this in her name and not only her name, it's for every other family that’s gone through it."
The relatives of the victims of Letby also condemned her decision to avoid a sentencing hearing, describing it as a "final act of wickedness from a coward".
A statement from the mother of victim twin boys Child E and Child F said: “Even in these final days of the trial she has tried to control things, the disrespect she has shown the families and the court show what type of person she is.
“We have attended court day in and day out, yet she decides she has had enough and stays in her cell – just one final act of wickedness from a coward.”
Farah Naz, the aunt of murdered Zara Aleena, spoke out when Letby refused to appear for sentencing after experiencing the same thing at her niece’s trial.
She wrote: “How can the murderer not have to face the victims of their crime in a justice system?
“His avoidance of court made us angry and meant he could assert his power yet again despite committing the ultimate crime.”
Prime minister Rishi Sunak called it “unacceptable” that some criminals have refused to face their victims.
Read more:
Lawyers: New legislation may not work
Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said it was hard to see how the threat of a longer sentence would work on someone who already facing a life sentence.
He wrote on X: “Difficult to see how an extra 2 years to “you will spend the rest if your life in prison” will change things.”
Author and legal expert The Secret Barrister added he thought murderers like Letby should publicly face the consequences of their actions.
But he stressed achieving this wouldn’t be “as simple as politicians are pretending” and that it should be acknowledged that there may not be an appropriate solution.
He wrote: "The unfortunate reality is that there is little that can be done to force a person to cooperate with a court hearing.
"The drawbacks of policy being drawn by people with no experience of the criminal justice system, and no interest in speaking to those who have it, are all too obvious.
"Because I can tell you from extensive experience that somebody intent on disrupting court proceedings will generally find a way."
Read more:
New legislation may not work (X - formerly Twitter, Nazir Afzal)
How do we force cowardly murderers to face up to what they have done? (The Secret Barrister)
What is the new law?
The proposed reforms, which could be introduced in October, will give custody officers the power to use “reasonable force” to ensure those awaiting sentencing appear in the dock or by video link.
Those convicted could also face an extra two years in jail if they ignore a judge’s order and continue to refuse to attend court, with such penalties applying in cases where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Those convicted could also face an extra two years in jail if they ignore a judge’s order and continue to refuse to attend court, with such penalties applying in cases where the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
