Charles Bronson, dubbed ‘Britain’s most violent prisoner,’ will appear at a public parole hearing starting today in his latest bid for freedom after spending nearly 50 years behind bars. He is one of the UK’s longest-serving inmates, and the Parole Board review will decide whether he should remain incarcerated.
This hearing will be the second in UK legal history to hear a case publicly. Bronson, who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014 after the artist Salvador Dali, has spent much of the last 50 years in prison, often in solitary confinement or specialist units.
Despite his reputation, Bronson will argue that he is a reformed character at 70, a ‘born-again artist’ who is more likely to be found carrying a ‘sawn-off paintbrush’ than a ‘sawn-off shotgun.’ The proceedings will be streamed live for members of the public and press to observe today and tomorrow, with Bronson watching from prison. The final day of the hearing will take place behind closed doors on Friday.
Bronson was initially sent to jail for armed robbery in 1974 but has spent nearly half a century incarcerated due to the violence he committed. He held 11 hostages in nine different sieges, with victims including governors, doctors, staff, and even his solicitor.
In 2000, he was sentenced to a discretionary life term with a minimum of four years for taking an art teacher at HMP Hull hostage for 44 hours and threatening to kill him with a makeshift spear. Since then, the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to direct his release.
In a Channel 4 documentary that aired last week, Bronson stated that he could ‘smell and taste freedom’ ahead of the parole hearing and expressed his desire to retire to a caravan on the Devon coast, where he would make money selling his paintings. He insisted that he had reformed and talked about how he turned to art while in prison, hoping to be released to enjoy ‘what’s left’ of his life.
Bronson’s first wife, Irene Dunroe, who still refers to him fondly as Mick, believes he should be released. She thinks he is no longer a threat to anyone and deserves to be free. Bronson’s relatives, however, think it is unlikely he will be released any time soon, with one saying that he has ‘absolutely no chance of getting parole at the moment.’
Bronson was the first prisoner to formally ask for a public hearing after rules changed last year to remove the secrecy surrounding the parole process. His hearing runs the possibility that he could be freed for the first time in decades. Bronson seems to relish being released, saying, ‘What the f**k am I still in prison for?’
»Charles Bronson appears at a public parole hearing starting today«
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