British serial killer Levi Bellfield will not be hearing wedding bells any time soon.
The 56-year-old prisoner and all others with a “whole-life order,” which means they are sentenced to life in prison without the chance of release, are now unable to be married or form civil unions according to a new rule that went into effect on Friday.
Killers like Wayne Couzens and Lucy Letby, who are under life sentences, are also subject to this ruling.
According to the UK’s Ministry of Justice, the rule is intended to prevent the worst of society from enjoying the life events they stole from their victims.
Bellfield will not be married because he was convicted of murdering Milly Dowler, 13, Amélie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19. He was already serving time when he stood trial for the 2002 kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, as she walked home from school.
In 2022, he sought legal assistance in order to contest a ruling that had earlier forbidden him from marrying his sweetheart. That year, Bellfield was engaged to a woman who had started corresponding with him before she started seeing him frequently.
His legal team successfully petitioned for up to £30,000 in legal assistance, using the 1983 Marriage Act and the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the newspaper.
He reportedly reapplied for a civil partnership in the last several months after withdrawing his marriage application.
According to the MoJ, the Lord Chancellor will still have the authority to approve ceremonies under sporadic cases.
Before the new law, inmates had the option to formally apply for marriage or a civil partnership, with the sole reason for refusal being a prison governor’s decision based on security concerns.
Notable inmates who have been allowed permission to marry while incarcerated include Charles Bronson, a renowned violent criminal.
Paula Williams, a former soap actress and Bronson’s wife wed in 2017.
