Compatibility of Whole Life Orders with the European Convention on Human Rights
| Author | Peter Coe |
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1350/jcla.2013.77.6.874 |
| Subject Matter | European Court of Human Rights |
European Court of Human Rights
Compatibility of Whole Life Orders with the European
Convention on Human Rights
Vinter and Others v United Kingdom (App. Nos 66069/09, 130/10,
3896/10, 9 July 2013)
Keywords
Imprisonment; Whole life orders; Human rights; European
Convention on Human Rights, Article 3; Inhuman and degrading
treatment
The case concerns Douglas Vinter, Jeremy Bamber and Peter Moore, all
of whom are serving life sentences for murder which are subject to
whole life orders.
Douglas Vinter
In May 1996 Vinter was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a mini-
mum term of 10 years, for the murder of a work colleague. He was
released on licence in August 2005. In February 2008, after drinking and
taking cocaine, Vinter followed his estranged wife to a pub, where they
argued. He ordered his wife into a car and drove off. The police tele-
phoned Vinter’s wife to ascertain whether she was safe. He forced his
wife to assure the police she was safe and well. He also telephoned the
police to tell them the same.
A few hours later Vinter gave himself up to the police, informing
them that he had killed his wife. A post-mortem examination revealed
that his wife had suffered a broken nose, deep and extensive bruising to
her neck consistent with attempted strangulation, and four stab wounds
to the chest.
In April 2008 Vinter pleaded guilty to murder. The trial judge con-
sidered that he should be deprived of his liberty permanently and passed
a mandatory life sentence with a whole life order.
In June 2009 the Court of Appeal dismissed Vinter’s appeal against
sentence (R v Vinter [2009] EWCA Crim 1399). The court held that,
given the circumstances of the offence, there was no reason to depart
from the normal principle enshrined within Sched. 21 to the Criminal
Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) that, where murder was committed by
someone who was already a convicted murderer, a whole life order was
appropriate (Vinter at [20]–[21]).
Jeremy Bamber
In August 1985, Bamber’s parents, adoptive sister and her two children
were shot and killed. Bamber was subsequently convicted of their
murders. The prosecution argued that the murders were premeditated
and planned, in order to make a financial gain, and alleged that Bamber
had arranged the crime scene to make it appear that his sister had killed
the family before killing herself.
476
The Journal of Criminal Law (2013) 77 JCL 476–481
doi:10.1350/jcla.2013.77.6.874
Compatibility of Whole Life Orders with the European Convention on Human Rights
The trial judge recommended to the Secretary of State that Bamber
should serve a minimum term of 25 years’ imprisonment. The Lord
Chief Justice added: ‘for my part I would never release him’. In 1988 the
Secretary of State imposed a whole life order.
In 2008, following the entry into force of s. 276 of and Sched. 22 to
the CJA 2003, Bamber applied to the High Court for a review of the
order. The court concluded that, having regard to Sched. 21, given
the number of murders involved and the presence of premeditation, the
appropriate starting point was a whole life order.
Bamber’s appeal against sentence to the Court of Appeal was dis-
missed (R v Bamber [2009] EWCA Crim 962). The court held that the
Secretary of State was entitled to choose between the two recommenda-
tions received after Bamber’s trial, and that the High Court’s decision
was correct and fully justified (Bamber at [18] and [39]–[40]). The court
relied on its previous judgment in R v Bieber [2008] EWCA Crim 1601,
adjudging that no issue arose under Article 3 of the European Conven-
tion on Human Rights (ECHR) as, pursuant to Kafkaris v Cyprus (App.
No. 21906/04) (2009) 49 EHRR 35, a whole life order is not an irredu-
cible life sentence.
Peter Moore
In November 1996 Moore was convicted of murdering four men. The
prosecution alleged that Moore carried out the murders for sexual
gratification. Each victim was stabbed numerous times with...
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