Charles Bronson (Häftling)

Charles Bronson (born 6 December 1952) is the adopted name of Michael Gordon Peterson, a British criminal who is referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain".

Early life

Bronson was born Michael Gordon Peterson in the resort town of Aberystwyth, in West Wales, to a respectable middle class family. His parents, Eira and Joe Peterson, ran the Conservative club in Aberystwyth, and his uncle and aunt were mayor and mayoress of the resort town in the 1960s and 1970s. His aunt Eileen Parry, speaking of her nephew, said: "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 Merseyside, where Bronson "got in with a bad crowd". Later, moving to Luton, which is often referred to as his home town, he earned a living as a circus strongman.

First marriage

Married in December 1970 to Irene, he has one son named Michael.

Boxing career and name change

Prior to his initial imprisonment 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 not clear how successful his boxing career was, mostly due to it being curtailed by his imprisonment. Bronson states 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. 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 initially jailed for seven years in 1974 for a bungled armed robbery, aged 21, during which he stole a mere £26.18. Contrary to popular belief, Bronson has never actually committed murder.

Bronson's 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.

He has served 30 years of his 34 years in prison in solitary confinement due to a number of hostage situations, rooftop protests, 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 the infamous Broadmoor.

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 was released on 30 October 1988 and spent 68 days as a free man, and then released again on 9 November 1992 and spent 53 days as a free man. He did, however, end up back behind bars before long on both occasions (first time he was arrested for robbery, the second time for conspiracy to rob). Bronson has spent a total of only four months and nine days out of custody since 1974, the majority of which he has spent in solitary confinement.

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

He has not been allowed to mix with other prisoners since 1999.

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 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 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, the 18-stone strongman 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 getaway helicopter to take him to Cuba, two Uzi sub-machine guns, 5,000 rounds of ammunition and an axe. 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 get home and have a pint with my son." Another seven years were added to his sentence.

• Soon after the trial, Bronson once again escaped from solitary confinement, tied up prison teacher Phil Danielson with a rope and towed him round the jail for 44 hours (the teacher was not physically harmed during the incident.) Armed with two knives, he twice tried to harm himself during the siege, hitting himself over the head with a bottle and tearing a washing machine filled with water from its socket in an attempt to electrocute himself. It is said that this kidnap attempt by Bronson was all done because he wanted "two cheeseburgers".

• 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, although Bronson claimed it was "an accident".

• 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".

Second marriage and second name change

In 2001 he married again, this time to Saira Rehman, who had seen his picture in a newspaper and began writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson just three times prior to their wedding.

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

Occupations and projects

Whilst in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regime and regularly does 2,500 press-ups a day. 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, producing pieces of art and has had eleven books published. He has won a record 11 Koestler Awards for his poetry and art.

Current status

Bronson remains a "Category A" prisoner in Wakefield High-Security Prison where he is still in solitary confinement. Bronson was due for a parole hearing in September 2008, aided by the fact he has shown no sign of violence for the past seven years, but this was postponed as his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case. The parole hearing is now due to take place on 11 March 2009

Film of Bronson's life

Bronson, a biopic of Bronson's life, produced by Vertigo Films, is scheduled for release on 13th March 2009. It stars Tom Hardy in the title role, and is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

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