Charles "Charlie" Bronson (born Michael Gordon Peterson, 6 December 1952) is an Anglo-Welsh criminal oten referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain".[1]
Charles Bronson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Gordon Peterson |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Spouse(s) | Irene Fatema Saira Rehman |
| Children | Michael Bronson |
| Parent(s) | Eira and Joe Peterson |
| Criminal charge | armed robbery, wounding with intent, wounding, criminal damage, grievous bodily harm, false imprisonment, blackmail, threatening to kill |
| Penalty | Initially 7 years, currently 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."[2]
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.
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.[3] However, it has often been suggested Bronson changed his name by deed poll to be more in line with a "tough guy" image
Bronson was imprisoned for seven years in 1974, aged 22, for a bungled armed robbery at a Post Office in Little Sutton, a suburb of Ellesmere Port, during which he stole just £26.18.[4] 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.[2]
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.[5]
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.[2]
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.[6]
Bronson remained a "Category A" prisoner when he was moved to Wakefield High-Security Prison.[7] 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.[8] The parole hearing took place on 11 March 2009[9] and parole was refused shortly afterwards. The Parole Board said that Mr Bronson had not proved he was a reformed character.[10]
Bronson has been involved in over a dozen hostage incidents, some of which are described below:
In 2001, Bronson married again, this time in Milton Keynes to Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcee[12] who had seen his picture in a newspaper and began writing to him. Rehman had visited Bronson ten times prior to their wedding.[13][14]
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.[citation needed]
Whilst in prison, Bronson has developed an extreme fitness regime and claims to do 2500 press-ups a day.[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'.[citation needed] He has won 11 The Koestler Trust Awards for his poetry and art.[citation needed] [15]
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.[16] 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.[17] 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.