Anthony Anderson (murderer)
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Anthony Anderson is a British murderer. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 after being found guilty of murdering two men during burglaries. The trial judge recommended that Anderson should remain in prison for a minimum of 15 years, which would have kept him in prison until at least 2003.
Anderson was later told by Home Secretary Michael Howard that he should serve a minimum of 20 years, which meant that he would not be paroled before 2008. Anderson saw this as a violation of his human rights, and took his case to the High Court in November 2002. His challenge was successful and the Law Lords decided that politicians should not be able to decide how long a life sentence prisoner remains behind bars. The European Court of Human Rights quickly agreed and the power of setting minimum terms was left with the courts.
