Luton killer Karl Oakley loses bid to move to prison

A man who murdered his ex-girlfriend in a ‘frenzied’ knife attack has lost a bid to be transferred to an open prison.

Karl Oakley from Luton was given lifespan and a minimum rate of 15 years in 2009 after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 18-year-old student Taylor Burrows on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He had challenged the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) over its decision to deny him a move towards open terms at the Court of Appeal.

At one hearing in October, Lawyers argued that the Parole Board had recommended that he be transferred to an open prison because there was “no further work” for him to undertake in a closed prison.

But in a ruling on Monday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, alongside Dame Victoria Sharp and Lord Justice William Davis, dismissed Oakley’s appeal, saying the Ministry of Justice’s decision to reject the Parole Board’s recommendation was “entirely rational was”.

Baroness Carr said the Ministry of Justice had “considered the council’s advice in detail and with care” and the department said he would need to undertake further courses in prison before he could be transferred.

The court heard a panel found Oakley was “suitable for open conditions” in 2021, but this was rejected by the Ministry of Justice. Another bid was made in 2023, which was rejected again by further judgment in February 2024.

Baroness Carr said: “The Secretary of State should carefully consider the council’s advice and give it as much weight as is appropriate given the nature, scope and context of the council’s findings and recommendations.

“But the legal arrangement is clear: the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the sole decision maker and the board acts as an advisor.”

In 2010, Oakley got his The minimum prison sentence is reduced to twelve years on appeal.

Oakley and Mrs Burrows began a relationship in the spring of 2008 and he was banished from her family home when she started missing classes at Luton Sixth Form College.

In 2009 the court heard that he was increasingly violent and had threatened to kill her the week before her death.

He had also previously been convicted of harassing and abusing other girlfriends.