Exeter triple killer can continue negligence claims, judges rule
A man with paranoid schizophrenia who killed three pensioners in Exeter can continue his legal challenge over allegations he faced negligent treatment from authorities before their deaths, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, 32 and from Croyde in Devon, killed 80-year-old Anthony Payne with a hammer and bludgeoned to death 84-year-old twins Dick and Roger Carter with a shovel in February 2019.
The incidents happened at properties in Exeter hours after Lewis-Ranwell had been released from custody for attacking an elderly farmer with a saw.
That was his second arrest in the space of 24 hours and took place just seven hours after he had first been released.
After a trial, a jury at Exeter Crown Court found the former scaffolder not guilty of murder by reason of insanity – meaning that because of his mental illness he did not know at the time of the killings what he was doing was wrong.
A judge imposed a hospital order with restrictions, with Lewis-Ranwell detained at the high-security Broadmoor Hospital.
Lewis-Ranwell later sued G4S Health Services (UK), Devon & Cornwall Police, Devon Partnership NHS Trust, and Devon County Council, claiming all four were negligent in their treatment of him.
The Court of Appeal was told that he alleges “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 NHS 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 2023, the three organisations asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court ruling that Lewis-Ranwell’s negligence case should not be struck out.
Under an “illegality defence”, they argued that 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 20 February, 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 that 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 that his claim involved allegations of “inadequate provision” of mental health services in police custody between February 8 and 10 2019.