Learco Chindamo

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Learco Chindamo, an Italian national resident in the United Kingdom, was convicted in 1996 of the murder of school headmaster Philip Lawrence. Chindamo was fifteen years old at the time of the murder.^[1] He was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 1996 and the trial judge recommended that a minimum of 12 years should be served.^[2]

[edit] Controversy

In August 2007, an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that Chindamo could not be deported to his home country of Italy on completion of his prison sentence, as doing so would allegedly breach his human rights.^[3] Although the Home Office argued that Chindamo presented a "present and serious threat" to society, the tribunal disagreed; they also argued that Chindamo had a right to a "family life" under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998.^[4] The decision was severely criticised by Frances Lawrence, widow of murdered headteacher Philip Lawrence.^[2] Opposition leader David Cameron argued that the case highlighted the need for a fundamental review of human rights legislation in the United Kingdom, including the abolition of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its replacement with a "British Bill of Rights".^[5]