Peter Chester, born Peter Speakman in 1954 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, was married and resided on Lytham Road in the South Shore area of Blackpool.

In October 1977, Peter Chester committed a heinous crime that shocked the community. He raped and murdered his seven-year-old niece, Donna Marie Gillbanks, at the home of his sister, June Gillbanks (née Speakman), on Mickleden Road in Blackpool. After the assault, Chester fled the scene, leaving Donna Marie in her bed. The following morning, her mother discovered the child's lifeless body, noting strangle marks around her neck and foam and blood in her mouth.

Chester was apprehended shortly thereafter and stood trial at Chester Crown Court in March 1978. He was found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 20 years. However, he remains incarcerated more than 30 years after his conviction, as Parole Board reports have consistently stated that the risk he poses is still too high for him to be granted parole.

While serving his sentence, Peter Chester became a central figure in a legal debate over prisoners' voting rights in the United Kingdom. In October 2009, he launched a legal challenge asserting that denying prisoners the right to vote infringed upon their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Chester took his case to the Court of Appeal, which unanimously dismissed his claim and denied him permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The case garnered significant public and political attention, especially in light of a 2004 European Court of Human Rights ruling that the UK's blanket ban on prisoner voting was illegal. Chester's challenge contributed to the broader discourse on the rights of incarcerated individuals and the extent to which they retain civil liberties while serving their sentences.