The judge had refused an application made by the
64-year-old serial killer, convicted of murdering 13 women, to have a minimum
term set to make him eligible for parole.
Instead the judge said he must serve a "whole
life" term.
A spokeswoman for the Judicial Communications Office confirmed
Sutcliffe had taken steps to mount an appeal.
"He has lodged an application for leave to appeal,
but that doesn't necessarily mean that he will be granted the appeal," she
said. No date has been fixed for a hearing.
Now known as Peter Coonan, the former lorry driver from
Bradford, West Yorkshire, was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1981.
He received 20 life terms for the 13 murders and the
attempted murder of seven other women in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. A
judge recommended he serve a minimum of 30 years.
Sutcliffe is currently being held in Broadmoor top
security psychiatric hospital after being transferred from prison in 1984
suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
Dr. Kevin Murray, the psychiatrist who has been in charge
of Sutcliffe's case since 2001, said in a 2006 report that he now posed a
"low risk of reoffending".
John Stainthorpe, a former detective superintendent at
West Yorkshire Police who worked on the case, said last month the judge had
made the right decision.
"I don't think we should take a chance with a man
like Sutcliffe," he added. "The man is thoroughly evil."
