Charlie was also making loud noises, shouting, swearing, cursing and making monkey-like noises. He was acting and sounding like a crazed madman.
It was quite clear to me that Charlie was barricading us on the 1s. Charlie used anything he could find large enough to block the stairs.
At one point he began to throw the dumbbells from the gym at the glass panels of the classroom. Charlie was unable to break these as the dumbbells just bounced off and broke from the impact.
It was then that I passed out, I think from fear and adrenalin. I don’t know how long I was unconscious for. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. I don’t believe Charlie had knocked me out, I just mentally and physically gave up.
During Charlie’s moments of destruction, Charlie climbed on to a metal cupboard he had dragged out earlier, stood on it and reached up to the security camera above the snooker table and placed a block of butter over the lens.
I watched Charlie and tried to work out what he was doing. I was beginning to lose track of time. I had been on the table for a long time so I decided to speak to Charlie. I said, ‘Charlie, where are you?’ because I couldn’t see him at that time.
Charlie replied, ‘Shut your fucking mouth, speak when you’re fucking spoken to.’
To me, that was a hint he was not going to kill me yet, but at a later time.
I said to Charlie, ‘I promise I won’t speak again but hear me out on this one, will you, please, go and see if you can find my glasses ’cos I can’t see a bloody thing without them.’
I could see clearly, but I wanted Charlie to show some sympathy towards me.
Charlie replied, ‘It won’t make much difference in a bit.’
… From room 28, Charlie marched across the ls over to the kitchen. I managed to inch my chair around to watch him. Charlie then went into the utility room which is attached to the kitchen. There is no door on the utility room so I had a good view of him.
I saw Charlie pick the washing machine off the floor and begin to yank it away from the wall. I then head a loud gush of water and saw a small stream of water run from the kitchen over to where I was sitting. I became concerned because the washing machine is hard-wired into the wall and there was a danger of electrocution if Charlie kept pulling at the machine.
As I saw the water getting closer to me, I lifted my feet up from the floor. Then, suddenly, I saw an enormous flash and I heard a loud bang come from the utility room and Charlie let out a scream and a groan.
I thought to myself, ‘Brilliant, he’s electrocuted himself.’
Then there was silence and I thought Charlie was either dead or he was knocked out. I remained perfectly still in case someone was going to come into the wing to get me.
I remember looking at my watch at this time and I think it was about 6.00pm, to time him to see how long he remained quiet for. I wondered if there was enough power in the power point to kill him.
I then heard a groan from Charlie so I inched my way back around to face room 30. I had the confidence to move because I knew Charlie was very short-sighted.
I called to Charlie, ‘Charlie, are you all right, what was that loud bang?’
Charlie replied, ‘I got hell of a shock from that thing then.’
Charlie then emerged from the kitchen looking very white and ill. He then came over, pulled up another chair and sat beside me.
I told Charlie that my legs were beginning to hurt. Charlie asked if I wanted another chair to put my feet up for a while. I told him I would, so Charlie placed another chair in front of me so that I could place my feet on it, but my ankles remained tied …
‘Charlie’, I said, ‘we must have been down here for three hours now and no bastard has even been to see if we are OK.’
This felt like a first step with Charlie, as though he and I were in this together. I was trying to build some sort of rapport/relationship with him to take the focus of him killing me away.
I then shouted up the stairs for someone to get me some cigarettes. I saw prison officer Tim come to the 2.1 gates. I shouted at him for some cigarettes and the Governor. I was getting very angry at this point, mainly through fear.
Alfie Stockman, another prison officer, then came to 2.1. I shouted the same to him and I was told he would relay my message.
During the first few hours of this incident, Charlie made two demands of me. I cannot remember which came first or at what time Charlie made the demands.
The first was to write two notes; one was a note to his girlfriend, Joyce Connor, and one was to my partner, Richard. Charlie dictated the notes to me while I wrote them. I cannot remember the contents of the notes; I only remember them being bizarre. I also cannot remember if or how they were passed out.
The second demand was for me to cut off Charlie’s ear. He was pissed off that he couldn’t go to his grandma’s funeral so he wanted me to cut it off and take it out with me and bury it with his grandma. I was horrified but so scared that I would have done it if he had made me. Luckily, Charlie forgot about this and it was never mentioned again.
After I had finished shouting upstairs, Charlie said, ‘These fucking lights are doing my head in,’ indicating the fluorescent lights. Charlie then untied my body from the chair and lifted me from the chair and replaced me back on the snooker table. Charlie then, with a snooker cue or a brush handle, I’m not sure which, proceeded to smash every light. There was glass flying everywhere but I was slightly protected by the snooker table’s overhead light. This went on for about ten minutes. I had my hands and arms covering my head and face from the glass …
… I told him I couldn’t go to the toilet because I was still tied to the chair.
Charlie came over and lifted my chair up so that I could stand with the chair still tied to me and then he moved me a couple of feet toward room 28 and then Charlie told me to pee on the floor.
Even though I was tied I managed to pee because my hands were slack enough which gave me sufficient movement. I was then returned back to point A. This procedure was the same each time I told Charlie I needed to pee.
This was a humiliating act by Charlie, especially because I was still tied and because he didn’t allow me to use a proper toilet.
There was an occasion while I was at point A when Charlie got a saucepan, poo’d in it and then threw the pan and its contents up the stairs, which I found disgusting.
I felt that I had to keep a rapport going with Charlie to try and save myself. I told Charlie that I had been deserted and then I started shouting to the prison officers upstairs. This was for the benefit of Charlie because he relished in my anger when I shouted at the prison officers because it was as though I was shouting out against the establishment, the prison and that we were in this together. This was the first glimmer of hope that I could actually do something with this situation.
Charlie then disappeared for some time. When he returned, he had a clear glass bottle in his hand similar to a Newcastle Brown bottle. He came over and stood a few feet in front of me. He held the neck of the bottle and smashed the base of it on something. I don’t know what it was.
Charlie then leant over to me and unbuttoned my shirt to my waist and then pushed my shirt and jacket apart so that my chest was exposed.
I feared that Charlie was going to cause me some serious harm with the bottle. Charlie then held the broken bottle to my chin and then to my chest. The bottle was only a few inches away from me.
Charlie made no sound, he was just staring. I was absolutely petrified. I was as scared then as I had been at the beginning when I had the knife held at my ribs.
The bottle was held at me for a few seconds and then Charlie stepped back from me. I began to then button up my shirt but was having difficulty because my hands were shaking so much through sheer fear. Charlie was stood in a very macho position with his legs astride, shoulders back with his arms by his side.
Charlie was still holding the bottle. He then, without making any sound, put the bottle to his head and scraped t
he jagged edge of the bottle down his bald head. Blood gushed from the cut down his face and on to his shoulders, chest and then on to the floor. I just sat there, too terrified and shocked to do or say anything.
Charlie then left without saying anything and began to wander around the floor. I tried to watch him as much as possible. I was also concerned that the cooker ring was still on and that he might harm himself or even me with it.
There was complete silence for about ten minutes and Charlie walked around.
I saw Charlie pick up a cloth from somewhere and mop his head. The cut did not appear serious. I now believe that the incident was for a dramatic effect to try and put the fear back …
… Charlie then began to sing so I joined in. He complimented me on my voice and asked me to sing a song for him. I sang, ‘You’ll never walk alone,’ and Charlie adored it. He kept asking me to sing it over and over again. The singing went on for about half-an-hour. I believe I may have fallen asleep at this point as I do not recall any significant events.
I do remember feeling as though I had been deserted, as I had heard nothing from the prison officers for some time.
Charlie then decided that we would go for a walk. I was now feeling drained, exhausted and cold and stiff from being in the same position for so long. I also told Charlie that I needed a shit but there was no way that I was going to do it on the floor.
Charlie then undid my arms and legs but kept the rope around my neck. Charlie walked ahead and led me over to the stairs near to the snooker table, point 24. I was then made to climb up the side railings of the stairs due to Charlie’s blockade preventing us from walking normally up the stairs.
Charlie went first, still carrying the spear and somehow holding on to the rope around my neck.
… Throughout the episode Charlie told me that thirty-five was his cell but I never went in.
Charlie tied me to the railings outside his cell and then he disappeared somewhere and returned a couple of minutes later with a clean mattress and a pile of about six green blankets. Charlie then threw the mattress on to the suicide net.
Charlie said to me ‘On there,’ and indicated to me to go over the railings and on to the net.
He then said, ‘Over there and sleep.’
Charlie then untied the rope from the railings and I climbed over the railings and jumped on to the net and climbed on to the mattress.
I believe Charlie’s idea was to disorientate me and torture me because I felt like I was hanging over the edge of a cliff. Charlie then tied the other end of the rope on to the netting to restrict my movement and to prevent me from getting up.
I laid on my back and looked up at the ceiling and saw that it was becoming light so I guessed it was about 7.30am. Charlie was stood leaning against the railings talking to the inmates in their cells. He spoke to them for about an hour mainly about their moves to different prisons.
I drifted in and out of sleep but I couldn’t sleep properly because I was still terrified.
I remember Alfie shouting to Charlie saying he wanted to talk. Charlie shouted back that he wanted food for the other prisoners. He never asked about any food for me, and didn’t seem concerned about me.
I faced the security camera and mouthed, ‘I’m not all right, get me out.’
After some time, Charlie jumped on to the net which jarred my neck due to being tied still. I felt like I was being treated like a dog on a lead.
Charlie untied the rope from the net and held on to it. He then told me to stick the mattress and blankets down through the edge
The only reassurance I felt was that the prison officers were at gate 2.1 and that I could be seen by a security camera which was situated at the end of the wing on the 3s.
… Julie (trained negotiator) shouted again, ‘Are you all right?’
Charlie was laid on the sofa and said, ‘You go and talk to them.’
I asked him if he meant I should go to the gate and speak to them. Charlie then had a tremendous outburst, ‘Of course I don’t fucking mean that.’
Charlie told me to go to the door while he held on to the rope around my neck and I talked through the gap of the door. I realised that I was still dealing with a lunatic.
Julie asked us how we were both doing. I told her we were fine but tired. Shortly afterwards, we heard some noise coming from outside. Charlie jumped up, led me from room 33 and into room 5.1, the wing office. He opened the window which looked out on to D Wing where the YPs (Young Prisoners) under-21 inmates were chanting, ‘Charlie, Charlie.’
I asked Charlie to stop them. I could hear them shouting, ‘Have you done him … is he dead?’ plus other similar things.
Charlie then shouted back a most unusual reply, ‘Look, you lot, do you realise what a good man this is, because I’ve just had a heart-attack and Phil has just brought me round and given me the kiss of life.’
Some shouted back, ‘Oooh.’
Charlie then collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter.
The YPs shouted to see me so I stuck my head out of the window. I heard shouts of, ‘Are you all right, Phil?’ and ‘Phil, you’re gonna get it, you’ll get your throat slit.’
Charlie then told the YPs to ‘Shut up’ and they did. I became even more fearful because I thought they might provoke Charlie into killing me.
We then went back to the gate and sat chatting for a couple of hours.
I think it was about 5.00am by now. We went back to room 33 for some time. I remember thinking about my family and home and how I was missing them and I looked at my watch and thought, ‘Five hours to go.’
We both just laid on the easy chairs looking out of the window and watching TV.
After a total of forty-four hours, I gave myself up and Phil Danielson was released to safety unharmed. He was awarded £65,000 in compensation and I was awarded a life sentence.
5
STARS BEHAVING BADLY
The public expects the typical prisoner to look like the old Victorian murderer Charlie Peace – gnarled face, walking with a limp and shabbily dressed. That is the typical image conjured up, that is how criminals are perceived to be. This is, sadly, very far removed from the truth.
I’ve compiled a listing of well-known characters who have had run-ins with the long arm of the law; some you will know about and some you may not. Many of them were the victims of false accusations, some were never charged, many were acquitted, and some of them did a bit of porridge
I have collected the details of these characters over time and only now have I the opportunity to reveal them to you. Some of the characters only gained notoriety after being imprisoned, but that still makes them a celebrated person. Some of those listed have merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time – a bit like my hostages!
ALI, MUHAMMAD (boxer) – Refused to fight for his country in the Vietnam War, served five years behind bars and was fined $1,000.
ANT, ADAM (real name Stuart Goddard, New Romantic singer) – Received a 12-month community rehabilitation order and was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to an injured pub musician when he appeared at the Old Bailey on charges of affray following an incident when he brandished a starting pistol and threatened drinkers in a North London pub after they mocked his clothes. The court accepted that Goddard had suffered a temporary spell of mental illness. This is what I was getting at when I mentioned duress of circumstance, but what was he doing carrying a starting pistol; who was he going to race?
AITKEN, JONATHAN (Member of Parliament) – Was imprisoned after being convicted of perjury following an unsuccessful libel case. While in prison, Aitken found God … wonder where he was hiding?
ARCHER, JEFFREY (Author) – A well-known geezer, jailed because of his perjury, received a four-year prison sentence. He could be stripped of his Lordship if a new Act is passed and backdated outlawing the likes of him.
BARRYMORE, MICHAEL (TV personality) – Mad or sad? The partially naked body of Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found floating face-down in the
swimming pool of Barrymore’s luxury home. Before Lubbock drowned, it was alleged that he was party to some rough gay sex, which had, it was claimed, caused some internal damage to his anus. There was reference to the date rape drug Rohypnol. Police suspect Mr Lubbock of having purchased some.
A late-night party developed after Barrymore and his gay lover, John Kenney, claimed that after Mr Lubbock was discovered in the pool he ran off with two other men into the nearby village. Kenney called his lover, Barrymore, a coward for running off. Although no charges were brought against Michael, the mud still sticks.
BENN, NIGEL (former Super-Middleweight Champion) – He was arrested for assault charges in a nightclub. His alleged victim needed a lot of stitches to his face and nose. Benn, it was claimed, had supposedly punched and kicked Ray Sullivan, a ticket agency owner, while he was on the ground.
After a week-long trial, the jury of six men and six women took six hours to clear Benn of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The lesser alternative charge of unlawful wounding was decided on some twenty minutes later, with the jury finding him ‘not guilty’ on all counts.
BERRY, CHUCK (singer) – He hired an under-age hat-check girl who had also set up as a prostitute at a nearby hotel. Charged with transporting a minor over State lines, Berry went through two trials and was sentenced to two years in a federal prison.
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