Law requiring murderers to appear for sentencing will be in The King's Speech

Attorney General Alex Chock is «committed» to passing legislation to prevent convicted felons from refusing to appear in court when the details of their sentence are announced. Photo: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

A law requiring offenders to appear for sentencing is due to be included in the King's speech and presented to Parliament by the end of this year. amid anger over Lucy Letby's refusal to return to court on Monday.

Alex Chalk, Minister of Justice, said he is «committed» to advancing legislation to prevent convicted felons from refusing to appear in court when sentencing details are announced.

The Telegraph understands that Rishi Sunak plans to include this measure in the King's speech on November 7th and bring it to Parliament by Christmas. The deputies expressed their fury after it emerged that Letby refuses to return to her place in the dock until the end of the hearing, which will end on Monday with her sentencing.

Mr. Sunak backed proposals for the enforcement of perpetrators to attend sentencing, promising during his campaign last year that he would «do everything possible to ensure that victims have the opportunity to look their perpetrator in the eye and witness the administration of justice.»

The Prime Minister suggested that refusing to appear for sentencing means «getting out of the position of a coward.»

Mr. Sunak's plan, which Mr. Chuck's predecessor Dominic Raab initially worked on, was to refuse to appear in court for an aggravated sentence, meaning that such a move could provide judges with legal grounds to increase the punishment for the perpetrator.

The new legal obligation will give judicial and prison officials the legal protection they need if they have to use force to bring a convicted criminal to trial in the dock.

Use of reasonable force

Currently, judges can order criminals to appear in court, and prison officials can use reasonable force to bring them to court. But a legal source said prison governors and guards are often «reluctant» to use force because of the risk of legal action if they are seen to have overstepped «reasonable limits» when the defendant simply insists on staying put rather than using violence. .

One of the considerations of the ministers behind the introduction of the new legislative measure is that it will provide additional legal protection to prison officers.

Judge of First Instance Mr. Judge K.S. Goss told the court last week that he did not have the power to force Letby to participate. He said: “The sentencing hearing will take place whether she is present or not. The court does not have the power to force her to attend… so there is nothing I can do about it.”

Courts across the country are reporting that more offenders are refusing to attend sentencing hearings, with the number of high-profile cases raising anger victims of their crimes.

Earlier this year, Thomas Cashman, Olivia Pratt-Corbel's killer, snubbed a judge and his victim's family while remaining in a cell after being convicted of killing a nine-year-old boy in Liverpool.

Rejected show up

Other recent cases of convicted killers refusing to appear in the dock include Kochi Selamai, who murdered schoolteacher Sabina Nessa in September 2021.

He was called a «coward» by her sister Jebina Islam.

Jordan McSweeney also refused to appear in court for his sentencing for the murder of aspiring lawyer Zara Alina.

In June, Mr Chalk said: at the sentencing hearing.

«Criminals who deprive of innocence, betray lives and destroy families must face the consequences of their actions and hear the condemnation of society, expressed in the verdict of the judge.»

Mr. Chalk, who, as a prosecutor before become an MP, jailed rapists, extremists and swindlers, said he was concerned that one defendant refusing to appear could be copied by others «who feel it is somehow a way to escape the consequences of their actions.»

“We have seen the suffering caused by these actions, so let me emphasize that I want to know that when the perpetrator sits in a cell trying to sleep, when the rest of the world falls asleep, the judge’s words of condemnation ring in their ears,” said Mr Chalk .

«There are victims who find it difficult to ever recover, so why can this defendant sleep soundly in his bed at all?»< /p>New CPS Guide

Last September, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released new guidance on how courts should deal with uncooperative defendants after judges said they lacked sufficient authority to deal with offenders who refuse to attend trial. hearings.

The guide outlines “options that can help the court secure their [defendants'] appearance or conduct hearings. This includes being able to face the accused in handcuffs.”

If the defendant refuses to leave prison to appear in court, the court must decide whether there are reasonable grounds for his refusal. For example, the defendant may feel bad. In this case, the court may order that the hearing continue in the absence of the defendant, or that the hearing be adjourned to a later time.

If there are no reasonable grounds, the prosecution may try to persuade the judge to force the prisoner to appear in court. If the judge agrees with the presence of the defendant, the case is referred to the head of the prison. It is then up to the warden to decide what reasonable steps to take to secure an appearance.

Jonathan Store, Deputy Chief Crown Attorney at the CPS, said it is important for victims of crime that defendants appear in court.

“For many victims, reading the impact statement in court before the defendant is of great importance. For them, being denied this opportunity can be very upsetting. The non-appearance of the defendants also means that cases can be postponed, trials are thwarted, and justice is thwarted,” he said.