DOUBLE shotgun killer David Oakes will spend the rest of his days behind bars after the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to quash his "whole-life" tariff on human rights grounds.
The former bouncer was told he would never be released from prison after being found guilty of the sadistic killings of his ex-partner Christine Chambers, 37, and their two-year-old daughter Shania at their home in Braintree last June.
Last Wednesday, a specially-constituted panel of judges ruled that orders preventing prisoners from ever being released from jail did not breach their human rights.
Giving the ruling, Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said the whole-life order "is reserved for the few exceptionally serious offences in which, after reflecting on all the features of aggravation and mitigation, the judge is satisfied that the element of just punishment and retribution requires the imposition of a whole-life order".
He added: "If that conclusion is justified, the whole-life order is appropriate, but only then.
"It is not a mandatory or automatic or minimum sentence."
Although the appeal judges overturned whole-life orders in the cases of another murderer and two rapists, they said that such orders were not at odds with Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which prohibits torture or degrading punishment.
The court allowed appeals by murderer Danilo Restivo and rapists Michael Roberts, nicknamed the "Bermondsey Beast" and David Martin Simmons.
But the court refused to quash the whole-life order imposed on Oakes, 51, formerly of Canney Road, Steeple, who tortured his ex-partner, before shooting her and their baby daughter dead in the early hours of June 6, 2011.
He was found guilty after a three-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court in May.
Reacting to the news on Facebook, a message posted on a memorial page read: "This page is about remembering Chrissie and Shania but would just like to let you all know [the] scum didn't get his appeal – and rightly so.
"To anyone who doubted Chrissie, this is just another reason for you to feel ashamed of yourselves. Nothing will bring them back but knowing [the] scum will live the rest of his miserable [life in prison] makes us very very happy. Rot in hell Oakes."
The message attracted more than 300 likes and 20 comments on the site.
