High Court refuses to let Steven Hunter appeal the life sentence he was given for murdering Sarah Cafferkey
DOUBLE killer Steven Hunter, who killed Jacqueline Mathews and Sarah Cafferkey will die in jail, after being refused the right to appeal his life sentence.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
DOUBLE killer Steven Hunter, who killed two women 26 years apart, will die in jail.
Australia’s highest court today refused him special leave to appeal the life sentence he was handed for the murder of Sarah Cafferkey.
Hunter was sentenced to life without parole last year for killing Ms Cafferkey, 22, and dumping her body in a rubbish bin in November 2012.
He is one of just a handful of Victoria’s most notorious prisoners who will never be released.
They include Russell St bomber Stanley Taylor, sex killer Raymond Edmunds and serial killers Leslie Coombes and Peter Dupas.
Lawyers for Hunter today urged the High Court to grant him leave to appeal his sentence.
There is no automatic right to have an appeal heard by the High Court.
They argued his guilty plea, remorse, and cooperation with authorities should have ensured a non-parole period was set.
The court heard there was too much emphasis put on the nature of Hunter’s crime and his prior criminal history.
It was also argued the Court of Appeal, which has already rejected an appeal bid by Hunter, erred in upholding the sentencing judge’s decision not to impose a non parole period.
Leave to appeal was refused.
Hunter now was has no further avenues of appeal.
Ms Cafferkey’s mum, Noelle Dickson, told the Herald Sun she was frustrated Hunter continued to try to appeal his sentence.
“Our system gives Hunter the right to appeal...and appeal again, and almost a year on and Hunter’s sentence is still not finalised,” she said.
“The offender’s right to appeal and appeal again is not fair on victims families having to hear the gruesome details and relive the nightmare over and over.”
Ms Dickson said she believed Hunter’s sentences was “just in all the circumstances”.
“He is a double murderer with a violent criminal history. He is a danger to the community especially young woman.
“Life sentences for murder in this state have become more rare than they should be, having regard to the number of dreadful murders which have come before the courts recently.
“It makes me doubt whether we in fact live in a society with laws which place a high premium on human life.”
Unlike previous court appearances Hunter’s High Court challenge was not taxpayer funded by Victoria Legal Aid.
Instead it is understood he secured pro bono representation.
Hunter — who once escaped from Pentridge Prison — had completed his parole just nine days before murdering Ms Cafferkey.
He had already served a 13-year term for stabbing Moonee Ponds woman Jacqueline Mathews, 18, in 1986, after she rejected his advances.