To think Lucy Letby should be made to attend court for the sentencing

[Viviennemary]

I know there are other threads on this terrible case. But I just read she has refused to attend court for the sentencing which is to be on Monday morning. The judge said he does not have the power to force her to attend. Can't see she will ever be allowed out of prison. And rightly so.

Yes really he was. Imagine that.

I would seriously worry that hearing those statements would in fact give her some kind of satisfaction unfortunately

How do you stop her closing her eyes and singing over the top of the audio?

Irrespective of the rationale put forward, you can't make someone listen to something

Let the mothers be the officers of the day..

@Paix the way prisoners are made to attend their life sentence wouldn't be suitable for the public eye in court...

Then they would just shit and piss themselves and again the whole court would be disrupted. Olivia's Mum invested a lot into the court hearings. But what if on the final day his parting shot would have been " won't leave your front door open again though will you?". I can imagine some of the stuff rapists, abusers etc could say. Forcing them to be there won't bring peace to the families. It won't do what we'll meaning people think it will, but it would give those who love drama something to dine out on.

OK, but I wasn't suggesting total removal of privileges, just 'some sort of removal of privileges'. And not necessarily for the entire length of your sentence. Just things like fewer visits from your family, or lower spending money. Just enough to make your stay that bit less pleasant, and to give you an incentive to attend court.

Mmmm yes because them being injured in an altercation would really help the process

Are you suggesting the law is changed for just one person, or are you suggesting that in future all victims of crimes will be expected to drag the defendants into court if they refuse sentencing? Regardless of any size or strength disparities?

I have no real opinion on whether she should go but I genuinely don't understand why people think it's impractical for her to physically be forced? She will have been forced to go to court, and forced to go to prison, why should this be any different? Just put her in cuffs and frog march her there.

Because that changes what?!

My feelings are that this is a heart vs head sort of situation.

Most people feel that anyone convicted of these kinds of dreadful crimes should be forced to face their judgement, and be forced to sit through the victim impact statements etc. It's almost part of the punishment - the prisoner is humiliated publicly and not allowed any control. They are refused the right to hide away.

I completely get the emotions behind it all, and why so many people feel passionately about this. LL killed our most vulnerable babies, in the most unforgivable betrayal of trust. People want to see her humiliated and see her face her punishment.

But when you consider it logically, rationally, and without the emotion - there's no possible way to realistically make this happen. The points PP raised about dragging a person to court, and the possible disruption are all true.

It may be hard to swallow but from a practical perspective, there's just no viable way to enact this. And really it doesn't make any difference, the desire to see her face her judgement is about wanting her to suffer (understandable).

She'll suffer by being behind bars for the rest of her life. Even if she ends up in a secure hospital, it's a miserable life. And she will have many, many, many years to contemplate what she's done. Due to her young age, if she's put away for life, she's got a very long punishment ahead of her.

I do think that piping the audio into her cell is an interesting idea though.

What would have happened if she had refused to attend her trial?

I wonder what her friends, who steadfastly believe in her innocence, make of her refusal to attend. Surely it makes her look more guilty.

This.

She will also have been stopped from shouting abuse in court.

Of course they can 'make her'......

I don't know if she should attend her sentencing or not. The parents of the murder victims should be the people to decide this.

There are so many things that could go wrong with forcing a convicted criminal to attend their sentencing that I'm not sure any of them should be there.

Victim impact statements would surely just give them more pleasure. The should be kept away and not made into a spectacle.

But it won't - if they aren't going to attend court then they aren't going to attend court regardless of what threats are used ... Plus the things you suggest would just lead to more issues - if they're denied visits when others are given them then it's going to lead to a build up of resentment which is likely to explode in a violent confrontation eventually.

Lower spending money isn't an option - prisoners are given a flat wage for work/education they do in prison, if you start witholding that then firstly there would be a legal case the the CJS would lose, secondly prisoners would be discouraged from doing anything productive with their day (and it's not just for their benefit as it helps prison officers to have everyone gainfully occupied and keeping them busy and so less likely to be causing trouble) and thirdly it would just lead to more illicit dealing with other prisoners which would put other people at risk - Prisoner A is on restricted commissary, so instead Prisoner B says they will get them XYZ as long as they do ABC for them in return ... ABC could be threatening another prisoner, acting as a drug mule, hiding a weapon, contacting someone outside prison etc etc and it would make officers lives harder trying to keep on top of it.

How do you stop her screaming continuously or deliberately smashing her body against bits of the court?

The link posted on page one provides an articulate dissection of why it is ultimately impractical even with the conditions as you suggest

This is what I was thinking

Have the families stated that they want her there?

Ah right, thank you

What would happen if the accused simply said they 'didn't want' to go?

Well, of course, not because she has pleaded not guilty!

What difference is it going to make?? The evil witch is still guilty!

Some of you are seriously disturbed people. Dragging her by her hair; strapped to a board and ragged. It’s all gone a bit Jeremy Clarkson.

Yes whole heartedly agree.

She murdered babies, she tried to murder several more and we have nonidea I'd there are even more cases against her. She needs to face the jury and everyone in court Especially the families of those babies. What a piece of sh1t she is.