European court to hear life tariff appeal for killer of gay men

[WillParkinson]

European court to hear life tariff appeal for killer of gay men

European judges will hear an appeal from three British murderers, including one who killed four gay men, that the ‘life tariffs’ on which they are imprisoned violate their human rights.

In January of this year, judges at the European Court of Human Rights had ruled there was violation of Article 3, the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, in detaining the men indefinitely.

Peter Moore was sentenced in 1995 for the murder of four gay men, allegedly for his own sexual gratification. He was incarcerated on a ‘whole life tariff’, meaning he would never be freed.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/07/20/european-court-to-hear-life-tariff-appeal-for-killer-of-gay-men/

[dipsydoodle]

1. I don't understand the basis of the appeal

Stock sentence for murder here in the UK is life imprisonment following the ending of capital punishment.

See here :

Sentencing
Main article: Life imprisonment in England and Wales

The sentence for murder is, in all cases, mandatory and depends upon the age of the offender at the time of the crime or conviction.[52] Where a person convicted of murder appears to the court to have been aged under eighteen at the time the offence was committed, the court must sentence him to be detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure.[53] In any other case, where a person aged under twenty-one is convicted of murder the court must sentence him to custody for life.[54] In any other case, a person convicted of murder must be sentenced to imprisonment for life.[55]

Since the abolition of capital punishment, murder has carried a mandatory life sentence in English law. As of 2011 this comprises three elements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_in_English_law

It would have been a matter of degree / seriousness which carried the whole life rider.

Fuck his human rights - he's not human. The alternative to the whole life tariff would've been 4 consecutive life sentences which would approximate to 56 years with good behaviour.