Double-murderer in High Court bid to overturn ‘no body, no parole’ laws
A convicted double-murderer, who is serving a life sentence for killing his wife and teenage stepdaughter, has asked the High Court to rule that ‘no body, no parole’ laws infringe on judicial independence.
In 2002, Rodney Michael Cherry was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his wife, Annette Cherry, and his stepdaughter Kira Guise in central Queensland. The girl’s body has never been found.
At his trial, the prosecution argued Cherry procured his other stepdaughter, Deborah Guise, to kill her mother using a .45-calibre colt pistol he taught her to use.
The ‘no body, no parole’ laws were designed to help victims’ families and give prisoners an incentive to cooperate with police. Credit: AAP Image/Human Rights Watch, Daniel Soekov
Deborah Guise testified that when she turned 16, she began to have a sexual relationship with Cherry. She was later convicted of manslaughter.
In 2022, Cherry applied to the Queensland Parole Board for release, arguing the ‘no body, no parole’ laws should not apply to him in relation to Kira’s death. He claimed he was wrongly convicted and did not know where her remains were.
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However, the board ruled in 2023 that Cherry failed to comply with the laws, by not cooperating with police, and was therefore not eligible to apply for parole.
Cherry has now taken his case to the High Court, where attorneys-general from NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia last month joined Queensland in defending the ‘no body, no parole’ laws.
Cherry argues sections of the Corrective Services Act infringe upon the Kable principle, which prevents state parliaments from making laws that adversely affect the integrity and independence of state courts.
