The case of Valdo Calocane: Prime and punishment

It was in the early hours of 13 June 2023 that Valdo Calocane took the lives of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, alongside Ian Coates (65), as well as seriously injuring other members of the public in Nottingham.

In the aftermath of such a tragedy, there has been a great deal of rightful anger from the families of the victims and much soul-searching. Attorney General, Victoria Prentis KC MP deemed the sentence of an indefinite hospital order “unduly lenient” and referred it to the Court of Appeal, pursuing a hospital and limitation direction or “hybrid order” of treatment followed by punishment in prison. However, the court of appeal upheld the original sentence.

On 5 February, an independent investigation conducted by Themis Consulting found major interagency failings in the care and treatment of Valdo Calocane. On February 12th, Sir Keir Starmer met with the families of the victims and agreed to a judge-led public inquiry.

Naturally, many people will struggle to empathise with those who kill, even when the perpetrator is in thrall to a distorted reality due to paranoid schizophrenia. Yet we need to seriously consider how far such killings are primed not simply by poorly convened, interagency mental health care, but also abandonment of black patients.

MIND, one of the leading mental health charities, rightly expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of those affected, and then stated: “People with mental illness must be held accountable when they commit serious crime. But when people are unwell, they need to be treated with respect, and able to access adequately funded mental health services which can intervene early and provide ongoing support. Strong local partnerships between services that include carers and communities are critical to ensure the right decisions around someone’s care are taken at the right time. This is especially true for people from racialised communities who are more likely to experience poor care and worse outcomes.” (Mind, 2025)

The question arises then, is our society priming vulnerable, black men to do terrible things only to step in afterwards and exact punishment? Importantly, who cares to address this priming?

It will be interesting to see whether the public inquiry promised by Sir Keir Starmer will pick up on this matter or, as has been the case for many years now, the investment remains in punishment over properly funded support for those with a serious mental illness who are also deprived in so many other ways.

As I explored in my latest novel, The Wonders of Doctor Bent, the call for punishment over compassion remains the safer bet. When it comes to accountability and mental health, it seems the least powerful are the most responsible when things go wrong.

Reference

Mind (2025) Mind responds to NHSE investigation into treatment of Valdo Calocane. Wednesday 05 February. https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/mind-responds-to-nhse-investigation-into-treatment-of-valdo-calocane/

The Wonders of Doctor Bent by Paul Crawford is available at Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, Foyles, Cranthorpe Millner, and all good bookshops.