On each and every offence, and you will spend the rest of your life in prison. well, as we ve been reporting, letby s refusal to appear in the dock at the sentencing has prompted significant controversy. so, has the government been too slow to change the law to force offenders to attend their sentencing hearings? that was the question put to prime minister rishi sunak a little earlier. i think the first thing is to extend my sympathies to everyone affected by this. i think, like everyone reading about this, it is just shocking and harrowing. now, i think it s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and theirfamilies and loved ones. we are looking, and have been, at changing the law to make sure that that happens, and that s something that we will bring forward in due course. should hospital managers be as accountable as doctors and nurses? well, we re setting up an inquiry that wi
And the attempted murders of six more. letby refused to appear in the dock for the sentencing the mother of two of her victims describing letby s refusal as a final act of wickedness from a coward . the court heard of the grief and trauma caused by letby s crimes. the families of her victims gave harrowing statements, telling of the horror and pain of losing their babies, some dying in their parent s arms. our correspondentjudith moritz has been in court throughout the trial and sent this report. she ll never be free again. so depraved, so wicked, lucy letby will be in prison forever. today, the courtroom reeled as the raw human cost of her crimes was laid bare. parent after parent told of the impact of letby s brutality. one clutched a toy rabbit,
Yes, lucy letby s refusal to listen to the statements from her victims families represents a disrespect for their feelings, families represents a disrespect for theirfeelings, which families represents a disrespect for their feelings, which clearly demands a response, a political response, and all the major political parties are agreed something needs to be done. but what? ajudge already something needs to be done. but what? a judge already has the power to require an offender to attend the dock, prison officers already have the power to use reasonable force to make that happen. what the judge cannot do is ask them to use whatever force is necessary. that is because you can imagine you could create a very volatile, dangerous situation for custody officers and they themselves actually might become liable for legal action if they overstep their powers during they overstep their powers during the course of that. then dragging an offender kicking and screaming into the dock, you can imagi