Charles Bronson (Häftling)

Charles "Charlie" Bronson (born 6 December, 1952) is the adopted name of Michael Gordon Peterson, an Anglo-Welsh criminal who used to be referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain".

Early life

Bronson was born Michael Gordon Peterson at 56 Long Croft Road, Luton. His parents, Eira and Joe Peterson, would later run the Conservative club in Aberystwyth, and his uncle and aunt were mayor and mayoress of the town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt, Eileen Parry, is quoted as saying "As a boy he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children. He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully – he would defend the weak."

When he was a teenager, Bronson moved with his family to Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where he started getting into trouble. Bronson later returned to Luton, which is often referred to as his home town, where he earned a living as a circus strongman. He was married in December 1970 to Irene, with whom he had a son, Michael.

Boxing career and name change

Prior to being imprisoned, Bronson had a short-lived career in bareknuckle boxing in the East End of London, during which time he became an associate of Lenny McLean. It is stated on his website that, contrary to press reports, his name was changed by his fight promoter in 1987, thirteen years after his initial imprisonment and that his choice was not made in relation to the actor, Charles Bronson. However, it has often been suggested Bronson changed his name by deed poll to be more in line with a "tough guy" image.

Life in prison

Bronson was jailed for seven years in 1974, aged 19, for a bungled armed robbery at a Post Office in Little Sutton, a suburb of Ellesmere Port, during which he stole just over £50. His sentence has been repeatedly extended for crimes committed within prison, which include wounding with intent, wounding, criminal damage, grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, blackmail and threatening to kill.

Bronson has served all but four of his years in prison in solitary confinement due to a number of hostage situations, rooftop protests, and repeated attacks on prison staff and on other inmates. His dangerous behaviour has meant that he has spent time in over 120 different prisons, including Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital.

In 2000, Bronson received a discretionary life sentence with a three year tariff for a hostage-taking incident (see below). His appeal against this sentence was denied in 2004.

Bronson has spent a total of just four months and nine days out of custody since 1974. He was released on 30 October 1988 and spent 69 days as a free man before being arrested for robbery, and then released again on 9 November 1992, spending 53 days as a free man before being arrested again, this time for conspiracy to rob.

In 1999 a special prison unit was set up for Bronson and two other violent prisoners from Woodhill, to reduce the risk they posed to staff and other prisoners.

Bronson remained a "Category A" prisoner when he was moved to Wakefield High-Security Prison. He was due for a parole hearing in September 2008, but this was postponed when his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case. The parole hearing took place on 11 March 2009 and parole was refused shortly afterwards. The Parole Board said that Mr Bronson had not proved he was a reformed character.

Hostage incidents

Bronson has been involved in over a dozen hostage incidents, some of which are described below:

• Bronson took hostages and staged a 47-hour rooftop protest at Broadmoor in 1983, causing £750,000 of damage.
• In 1994, whilst holding a guard hostage at Woodhill Prison, Milton Keynes, he demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea as ransom. Two months later, he held deputy governor Adrian Wallace hostage for five hours at Hull prison, injuring him so badly he was off work for five weeks.
• In 1998, Bronson took two Iraqi hijackers and another inmate hostage at Belmarsh prison in London. He insisted his hostages address him as "General" and told negotiators he would eat one of his victims quickly unless his demands were met. At one stage, Bronson demanded one of the Iraqis hit him "very hard" over the head with a metal tray. When the hostage refused, Bronson slashed his own shoulder six times with a razor blade. He later told staff: "I'm going to start snapping necks - I'm the number-one hostage taker." He demanded a plane to take him to Cuba, two Uzi sub-machine guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and a cup of beans. In court, he said he was "as guilty as Adolf Hitler". He said: "I was on a mission of madness, but now I'm on a mission of peace and all I want to do now is go home and have a pint with my son." Another seven years were added to his sentence.
• In 2007, two members of prison staff at Full Sutton high security prison in the East Riding of Yorkshire were involved in a "control and restraint incident", in an attempt to prevent another hostage situation, during which Bronson (who now needs spectacles) had his glasses broken. Bronson received £200 compensation for his broken glasses, which he claimed were made of "pre-war gold" and given to him by Lord Longford.Vorlage:Fact

Second marriage and second name change

In 2001, Bronson married again, this time in Milton Keynes to Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcee who had seen his picture in a newspaper and began writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson ten times prior to their wedding.

For a short time, Bronson converted to Islam (Rehman is Muslim) and wished to be known as Charles Ali Ahmed. However, he and Rehman have since divorced. Rehman has since written two books regarding her short marriage to Bronson, portraying him in a negative light. Bronson responded by claiming that she is an attention-seeker and that she would be nobody if it were not for her connection to him.Vorlage:Citation needed

Occupations and projects

Whilst in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regime and claims to do 2500 press-ups a day.Vorlage:Citation needed In 2002, he published a book Solitary Fitness (ISBN 1-902578-12-0), detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space.

For the past ten years, Bronson has occupied himself by writing poetry and producing pieces of art; he has had eleven books published, including in 2008 his only self-penned book 'Loonyology: In My Own Words'.Vorlage:Citation needed He has won 11 The Koestler TrustKoestler Awards for his poetry and art.Vorlage:Citation needed

Current status

Bronson has now been moved to a lower security jail HMP Long Lartin.

Film of Bronson's life

Bronson, which loosely follows Bronson's life, produced by Vertigo Films, was released on 13 March 2009. It stars Tom Hardy in the title role, and is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. There was some controversy caused at the première, when a recording of Bronson's voice was played with no prior permission granted by officers at HM Prison Service, who called for an inquiry into how the recording had been made. Large parts of the film depict events that never happened; in particular the sequence where Bronson is released 'for being sane' during the 80's, goes to live in a brothel, starts a bare-knuckle boxing career and gets his 'new' name, then proposes to a girl before being sent back to prison.

Bibliography

• "Bronson" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 1857825225)
• "Bronson" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 9781844546558)
• "Solitary Fitness" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 1844543099)
• "Loonyology: In My Own Words" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 1906358117)
• "The Good Prison Guide" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 1844543595)
• "Insanity: My Mad Life" by Charles Bronson (ISBN 1844540308)

External links

• Bronson movie site
• The Free Bronson Official Website
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