Killer of Met Police officer given whole life prison term

Louis de zoyser at 1 26 in the morning on the 25th of September 2020 you shot dead Sergeant Matt Ratner he was the custody Sergeant at Croydon police station he had devoted his life to public service he put himself in the way of danger to protect the public and to protect and Safeguard those who came into custody you have robbed Sue bushby of their future life together Diane peachy of her stepson Luke Ratner of his father and Jessica Williams and James Young of their brother they are all rightly immensely proud of the man you killed they recognize that you bear the sole responsibility for his murder they say in their Victim Impact statements that for the officers who were on duty that night they have nothing but support sympathy admiration and respect Luke Ratner himself is a police officer he knows as well as anyone the dangers they face day in Day Out and the difficult circumstances in which they operate you said that you had an autistic meltdown you said that you had diminished responsibility the jury disagreed the jury found you guilty of murder the sentence for murder is set by law it is life imprisonment so I sentence you to life imprisonment I make a statutory surcharge order in the required sum and I have already made a deprivation order in respect of some specified items that were seized from you I am satisfied that you will be held in conditions that will ensure that your medical needs can be accommodated and that you can be treated in accordance with your rights the operational manager for the category a team at his Majesty's prison belmarsh has confirmed that they have the resources and Facilities to provide the care that is required the Secretary of State can if necessary make an order for your detention in hospital I refused an application to adjourn sentence I am satisfied that there has been ample time to obtain any information that is relevant to sentencing I have a great deal of medical evidence about your condition and I have been given very great assistance from your lawyers I have all the information that is necessary to pass sentence the law requires the court to decide whether to set a minimum term order or a whole life order a minimum term order means that you can be considered for release after the minimum term a whole life order means that you remain in custody for the rest of your life a minimum term order must be set unless the court is required to make a whole life order the court is required to make a whole life order if the seriousness of the offense means that a minimum term order should not be made a sentence of imprisonment for life with a whole life order is a sentence of Last Resort it is for cases of the most extreme gravity it is reserved for cases where that is what is required to secure just punishment in the event of any doubt as to whether that standard is reached a minimum term order is likely to be appropriate if the seriousness of the offense is exceptionally High then the starting point is a whole life order the law identifies cases that are normally of exceptionally High seriousness they include the murder of a police officer or a prison officer in the execution of his or her Duty in those cases the starting point must normally be a whole life order you murdered a police officer in the execution of his duty so this case is within a category where Parliament has said the starting point is normally a whole life order depending on the facts of the case the starting point can be changed from a whole life order to a minimum term order but that can only be done if it is Justified and it will only be justified if the seriousness of the offense is not exceptionally High after deciding the starting point the court must consider any aggravating or mitigating factors if the starting point is a whole life order then depending on those factors the court could impose either a whole life order or a minimum term order so the final sentence depends on the starting point and then the balance of those other factors I turned to the events of the 25th of September 2020. the events are captured on CCTV and body-worn video evidence I am sure of the following one you were stopped you were in possession of a gun the gun was a revolver which had six Chambers each chamber contained a bulleted cartridge you are also in possession of a pouch containing seven additional bulleted cartridges each of those cartridges was suitable for firing from the gun two you knew you were in possession of the gun and cartridges when you were stopped by the police you knew the gun worked you knew the cartridges worked with the gun you knew that each cartridge was likely to kill if fired directly at a person's chest three you had no lawful or good reason for the possession of the loaded gun or the court cartridges 4 you deliberately concealed the gun from the police you told them you had cannabis to focus their attention on that you did that in the hope that it would make it less likely that they would find the gun when the police found the seven cartridges you lied and said that they were not real five you made strenuous and successful efforts to retrieve the gun whilst you were handcuffed behind your back there was no lawful or good reason for you to do that six you had time and space to consider what to do it was 50 minutes between the time you were stopped and the time you shot Sergeant Ratner there were eight minutes after arrival at the police station before you were brought out of the van you had already retrieved the gun at that point during those eight minutes you were left entirely alone without any distraction you're able to think about what you would do seven you posed a lethal risk not just to Sergeant Ratner but also to the two other officers who were in The holding room and also to any other officers and anyone else in the area eight you had twice been arrested before without incident on this occasion the video evidence shows that you were treated with conspicuous compassion and kindness or as Luke Ratner put it in his victim impact statement with respect dignity and understanding none of the officers gave any reason for you to feel at risk of harm or threat nine you did not have an autistic meltdown your actions were voluntary they were controlled they were deliberate you acted in Cold Blood 10. you intended to kill Sergeant Ratner you deliberately aimed the gun at his chest at near Point Blank Range the first shot caused fatal injuries it caused Sergeant Ratner immediately to fall to the ground even as he fell you re-aimed and you fired a second shot at him Parliament has said that the murder of police officer in the execution of his or her duty is normally an offense where the seriousness is exceptionally High Parliament has recognized that there may be cases where that is not so I have considered the impact of your autism on your culpability in doing so I have paid close attention to the sentencing council's guideline you were not having an autistic meltdown you were in control of your actions expert evidence during the trial indicated that autism does not cause people to be violent autistic people are no more likely to commit violent offenses than anyone else autism did have an impact on your social communication and your social interaction but you were able to make yourself understood that included when you requested an appropriate adult and a solicitor any communication difficulty or any difficulty with social interaction had no bearing on your decision to kill Sergeant Ratner autism can also result in restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior activities or interests it may be that this helps explain your interest in firearms but it does not help explain your decision to kill sergeant ratimer autism also affects how you perceive things for example you are not tolerant of noise but again that does not explain your decision to kill Sergeant Ratner I am satisfied that you are able to exercise appropriate judgment you were able to make rational choices you were able to understand the nature and consequence of your actions there was no sufficient connection between your autism and the murder to reduce your culpability by reason of your autism autism is not to blame for your decision to murder Sergeant Ratner you are to blame for that there is no reason to depart from the normal rule that the seriousness of this type of offense is to be regarded as exceptionally High I therefore adopt the starting point of a whole life order but that is then subject to the other factors and the aggravating and mitigating balance I turn first to the aggravating factors Sergeant ratino was performing a public service and exercising a public duty that factor is inherent in the starting point of a whole life order it is not therefore a separate aggravating Factor planning and premeditation your decision to kill Sergeant Ratner was not immediate or panicked there was a degree of both planning and premeditation prior to being stopped by the police I accept that you had no plan to murder a police officer but once you had been stopped and detained and the period thereafter you did form a plan to do so that plan took shape in a number of ways you lied to the officers you said you did not have anything that could hurt them you told them that the cartridges that they found were not real you pointed them to the in the direction of the Cannabis in your bag diverting their attention from your body where the gun was concealed you went to considerable and probably painful lengths to retrieve the gun in a way that was undetected once you had hold of the gun you kept it hidden under your coat as he moved from the van to the holding cell you sought to keep your back close to the wall to help conceal the gun all of those things show a degree of planning and premeditation albeit I accept that was all within the context of the period between the Stop and your arrival in the holding cell it is nonetheless a significant aggravating feature use of a firearm you acquired the gun and then you manufactured the bulleted cartridges for it you loaded each of the chambers of the gun and you took it with you with other cartridges as you took a journey in public you took it into the police station those actions created a significant risk to members of the public and to all those in the police station including other police officers who were also exercising public duties after the lethal shot you fired three further shots they and particularly the third and fourth shot pose the high risk to the lives of two other police officers your use of a firearm is a further significant aggravating feature the use of a gun to commit the murder means in itself that the seriousness of the offense is particularly High I turn to mitigating factors first your upbringing you had a difficult upbringing you were bullied at school your father beat you that is sad and distressing but he did well at school you got three A's at a level you had a job at hmrc and you did well at that job and were valued in it you had a girlfriend and I have read many statements from those who knew you including your former girlfriend and including colleagues at work the difficulties you had to endure in your childhood is a mitigating Factor but it does not significantly reduce the seriousness of this offense age you were 23 at the time of the offense you are now 26. you are highly intelligent you had studied independently you were in work and you were living independently there is no evidence of any lack of maturity our whole life order can only be imposed on an offender who is over the age of 21. you were over that age but not substantially so and you are still within the age bracket where neurological development can impact on maturity but you were close to the top end of that age bracket your age is a mitigating Factor good character you had no previous convictions or cautions for any offense that is a mitigating factor in your favor and I take it into account that its weight is limited because I am sure that you had been engaged in unlawful conduct in relation to drugs and firearms autism I have already explained that your autism does not significantly reduce your culpability it is a mitigating factor to the extent that it affects the impact of imprisonment on you I have considered detailed academic research on the experience of autistic prisoners that impact is complex in some respects it is possible that you may have less difficulty enduring loss of Liberty and a structured regime than others but in many other respects it is likely that you will find imprisonment more difficult particularly in how you deal with staff and other prisoners and the effect of noise and other sensory stimuli on you on balance I accept that you are likely to find prison more difficult than a neurotypical prisoner I take that into account your injuries after shooting Sergeant Matt retina twice you fired two more shots one hit the wall of the cell mercifully missing the two officers who were bravely restraining you the fourth hits you in the neck this resulted in bleeding and a blood clot which traveled to your brain and has caused some damage it has also resulted in physical problems it means you now use a wheelchair and you have real problems with your communication often using a whiteboard to help you communicate it is entirely due to your deliberate and voluntary actions that you have those injuries but I have regard to the impact of imprisonment on you in the light of the totality of your injuries I am satisfied that adequate treatment can be provided in custody even so I recognize that custody is likely to be more difficult both because of your injuries and because of your autism that is a significant factor to consider when deciding whether to impose a whole life order impact on your family I read the statement of your mother and extracts of it were read by Mr Khan I recognize the impact that your sentence will have on your family but that is not a significant mitigating Factor the aggravating factors in my judgment outweigh the mitigating factors the aggravating effect of your use of a gun and the planning and premeditation outweigh the mitigating effects of your personal mitigation including the impact of custody there is therefore no justification to depart from the starting point of a whole life order that is what Parliament has decided should normally apply as a starting point to the murder of a police officer in the execution of their Duty the seriousness of the offense means that a minimum term order is not justified a whole life order must be imposed Louis de zoyser I sentence you to imprisonment for life I impose a whole life order that means you will remain in custody for the rest of your life you may now be taken from the dock

Channel: Sky News

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Id: 6dK2g5lKxX8

Length: 21min 39sec (1299 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 27 2023