Bereaved families demand new law as killer nurse set to skip sentencing
Families want the chance to face killers in court for their sentencing
Last updated 21st Aug 2023
Bereaved families are calling for killers to be forced to face their sentencings in person as killer nurse Lucy Letby is expected to avoid attending hers later.
It's expected though that she won't attend her sentencing in person today.
Families bereaved by some of Britain's most high-profile recent murder cases have come together to demand changes to the law, which would force killers to appear in court.
Cheryl Korbel, mother of nine year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, has been running a campaign called Face the Family, having been denied the chance to watch her daughter's killer being sentenced earlier this year.
She's being supported in her calls by the father of Elle Edwards, who was shot dead in Merseyside last year.
They've described the expected absence of Letby from her sentencing as an "insult" and "disrespectful".
Ms Korbel has previously said she was in "shock" when she realised Olivia's killer, Thomas Cashman, could choose whether to appear in court when his 42-year sentence was handed down.
She said: "We'd spent weeks doing impact statements.
"Those feelings were deep down, and bringing them to the surface was really hard, but we did it.
"And to find out we weren't able to face him was just horrendous."
Ms Korbel said she wanted Cashman to see and hear "the pain he had caused", and said killers like him and Letby must face bereaved families to "help them realise what they've done".
The campaign is also being backed by Tim Edwards, who's daughter Elle, died when Connor Chapman fired a submachine gun into a crowd outside a pub in Wallasey on Christmas Eve.
Tim did get to face his daughter's killer in court saying: "To have him stood in front of us in the dock and listen to what we had to say was important.
"At least we have the satisfaction and knowledge that he has heard what we've gone through.
"How he processes that is out of our hands, but it's important, you're given the chance to do that."
Mr Edwards said it was "very disrespectful" that other bereaved families didn't get to see justice served.
"It's not good enough - it's becoming more of a pattern for guilty murderers to use this option.
"It doesn't show the justice system in a good light."
What is being done?
The Government replied to a Face the Family petition over the weekend saying it's committed to change the law to force criminals to appear in court.
The petition has gained over 31 thousand signatures, and in an official response the government has said: "Under the current law, courts can ensure in most cases that offenders appear to face the consequences of their crimes.
"However, it is the case that an offender who is being held in prison on remand cannot currently be forced to attend their sentencing hearing. We are therefore carefully considering how best to address this issue.
"The Government is carefully considering changing the law so that offenders are required to face up to their actions and victims can see justice being served."
In the response, the government said they would be looking at bringing forward legislation "as soon as possible"
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