Britain's Most Violent Prisoner "Charles Bronson"

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• published: 24 Aug 2016
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Charles Arthur "Charlie" Salvador (better known as Charles Bronson and born Michael Gordon "Mickey" Peterson; 6 December 1952) is an English criminal who is often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain" and "Britain's most notorious prisoner" He has also spent periods detained in the Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospitals. Born in Luton, Bedfordshire he became a petty criminal before being sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for armed robbery in 1974. Upon his release, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter thought he needed a more suitable name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson, after the American actor. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery and continued to be a difficult inmate, instigating numerous hostage situations, resulting in him being sentenced to life imprisonment. While in prison in 2001, he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed. This second marriage lasted four years before he divorced Rehman and renounced Islam. Bronson is one of the highest-profile criminals in Britain and has been featured in books, interviews, and studies in prison reform and treatment. In his own words: "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty. That doesn't make me evil, just confused." He was the subject of the 2008 film Bronson starring Tom Hardy, a biopic based loosely around his life. Bronson has written many books about his experiences and famous prisoners he has met throughout his incarceration. A self-declared fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation, Bronson dedicated a book to working out in confined spaces. He has also cultivated a reputation as an outsider artist, with his paintings and illustrations of prison and psychiatric hospital life being publicly exhibited and winning him multiple awards. In 2014 he announced that he was changing his name again, this time to Charles Salvador in a mark of respect to one of his favourite artists, Salvador Dalí, and to distance himself from his existing reputation. The Charles Salvador Art Foundation was founded to promote his artwork and "help those in positions even less fortunate than his own" to participate in art Bronson was imprisoned for seven years in 1974, aged twenty-two. He was imprisoned at Walton Gaol, and soon ended up on the punishment block after attacking two prisoners without provocation.[16] He was transferred to Hull in 1975, After refusing to work, he smashed up a workshop after an altercation with a prison officer, and was sent to the punishment block. He was also injected with the sedative chlorpromazine (which made him violently ill), and six months were added to his sentence. After recovering he continued to prove a highly challenging inmate, and spent many months in isolation. He then attacked fellow prisoner John Henry Gallagher with a glass jug, and was charged with grievous bodily harm (later dropped to unlawful wounding, nine months were added to his sentence) and transferred to Armley Gaol.By now Bronson found that his reputation as a violent and highly dangerous inmate preceded him, as he spent 1975 to 1977 being switched between Armley, Wakefield, Parkhurst, and Walton prisons; he was taken from Yorkshire to London chained to the floor of a prison van. He remained in isolation, and began his fitness programme, though he continued to attack other convicts and damage prison property. While recovering from a beating in solitary given to him for punching two prison officers, Bronson was handed the divorce papers his wife had filed. At Wandsworth he attempted to poison the prisoner in the cell next to him, and was therefore moved to Parkhurst in 1976, where he befriended the Kray twins, whom he described as "the best two guys I've ever met" Bronson was soon moved back to Wandsworth after threatening to kill a prison officer. He spent four months in isolation after he was caught trying to dig his way out of his cell – after being returned to the prison's general population he caught up with the prisoner who had informed on his escape plan, and then scarred him for life. The governor at Wandsworth wished to move Bronson on, and as only the C Unit (Psycho Wing) at Parkhurst was willing to accept him, Bronson found himself back at the Isle of Wight.There he attacked a prisoner with a jam jar, and was again charged with grievous bodily harm. He attempted suicide and attacked another prison officer, and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.