Triple killer can continue alleged negligence legal challenge

A triple killer can continue his legal challenge over allegations of negligent treatment from authorities, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, 32, killed twins Richard and Roger Carter, 84, and Anthony Payne, 80, in 2019 because he wrongly believed they were paedophiles.

A jury cleared him of manslaughter on the grounds of insanity.

The paranoid schizophrenic was twice detained and released by police in the 48 hours before the killings.

After a trial at Exeter Crown Court, a judge imposed a hospital order with restrictions, with Lewis-Ranwell detained at the high-security Broadmoor Hospital, and a report found failings in his mental health care.

Lewis-Ranwell sued G4S Health Services (UK), Devon & Cornwall Police, Devon Partnership NHS Trust and Devon County Council for compensation, alleging all four were "negligent" in their treatment of him.

The Court of Appeal was told he alleged "it should have been obvious to all concerned during both detentions that if he were released there was a real risk that he would injure other people, and that the necessary steps should have been taken to keep him in detention until it was safe for him to be released".

G4S, the health trust, and the council previously brought failed legal bids to have part of the civil compensation claims against them thrown out by a judge.

At a hearing in June, the three organisations asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a High Court ruling that Lewis-Ranwell's negligence case should not be struck out.

Under an "illegality defence", they argued he should not be allowed to bring a claim based on the consequences of his "three unlawful homicides".

Lewis-Ranwell's legal team argued the not guilty verdict by reason of insanity was an acquittal, so, under the law, he was not treated as criminally responsible for his actions and could bring his claim.

In a majority ruling on Tuesday, senior judges said Lewis-Ranwell's case against the organisations could continue.

Lord Justice Underhill, with whom Dame Victoria Sharp agreed, said he believed "the considered view of right-thinking people would be that someone who was indeed insane should not be debarred from compensation for the consequences of their doing an unlawful act which they did not know was wrong and for which they therefore had no moral culpability".

Lady Justice Andrews said she would have allowed the appeal.

Lewis-Ranwell's trial was previously told he had been gripped by paranoid schizophrenia and suffering from delusions about saving young girls from a paedophile ring.

Before returning their unanimous verdicts, the jury passed a note to the judge, Mrs Justice May, which said: "We the jury are concerned at the state of psychiatric service provision in the county of Devon.

"Can we be assured that the failings in care offered to Alexander Lewis-Ranwell will be appropriately addressed following the trial?"

Lawyers for Lewis-Ranwell told the Court of Appeal his claim involved allegations of "inadequate provision" of mental health services in police custody between 8-10 February 2019.

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