A man locked up with Charles Bronson said the man known as "Britain's most violent prisoner" helped him survive the "torture" of prison.
Stephen Gillen felt suicidal during nearly 12 years as a Category A prisoner, a category deemed to pose a threat to public safety and national security. He spent some of that time locked in a cell in segregation for 23 hours a day, living amid the "institutional smell" of stale food and disinfectant, with shouting people and the "echoing clanging" of metal "that just carries forever".
Now 51, he told the ECHO: "It's a living hell every day. It's like Groundhog Day, but you have to deal with it. It's emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically soul destroying and crushing. It's killing a little bit more of you every day that passes."
READ MORE: Life and times of Britain's most infamous prisoner who brought mayhem to jails
In the cell next to him lived Charles Bronson, a man known as "Britain's most violent prisoner". Bronson is notorious for his attacks on guards and fellow prisoners, for causing £500,000 worth of damage by staging rooftop protests, and for taking staff and prisoners hostage, including an art teacher who criticised his painting.
Bronson, currently imprisoned at high-security HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, has spent many of his 50 years in jail in solitary confinement. Now, the 70-year-old, with his iconic moustache, is waiting for a parole hearing after becoming the first person to formally ask for a public hearing.
Stephen first met Bronson at HMP Wandsworth in the early 1990s, later crossing paths again at Brixton, Woodhill and Wakefield prisons. The pair were "very close", talking for hours into the night from neighbouring cells, according to Stephen, who said 'Charlie' still sends him Christmas cards.
Despite the public image of Bronson as a violent inmate, Stephen described him described him as a "generous" and "polite but forthright" man. He said Bronson is "a really funny man" with "a real warm side", who shared the same "old school" values, like not hitting women and kids.
The 51-year-old told the ECHO: "Has he done bad things? Of course he has. Has he taken liberties that were atrocious and you would say, 'That was disgusting'? Yeah, of course he has. But there's a lot more to it than that."
He added: "They say he's the most dangerous prisoner. That's bull. Of course, he's not the most dangerous prisoner. I've seen little skinny people run up when you're sitting on the toilet, when you're not looking, stick a big knife in you and then run away. I mean, who's more dangerous than that?"
With Bronson hoping to have "a Guinness by Crimbo", some people question the suitability of releasing a man with such a reputation into the public. Stephen said: "People can say what they want, but the man is 70 years of age now, he wouldn't have the desperation to do anything. Why would he want to go back in there after that for the last few years that he's got?"
Stephen said Bronson has "woven a rope for his own neck" and must be accountable for his own actions, but he also sees a bit of himself in his former prison mate. Stephen grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles before moving to London where he lived in the care system. Bronson was born in Luton and spent some years in Ellesmere Port. Both got involved in petty crime in their early and mid teens before moving on to more serious crimes.
Bronson was first sent to prison in 1974 for armed robbery, while Stephen, who was suffering from addiction problems by 14, was locked up after being charged with taking and driving away a vehicle without consent, theft and criminal damage. He was later put in jail again for attempted robbery and firearms offences.
"Desperation" put Bronson in prison, according to Stephen, who said his friend had to survive once "forced onto that hurtling train". Bronson's choices became "less and less and less" the more his notoriety grew, and the longer he spent in prison, the more his mental health "deteriorated".
Stephen said: "I can remember when I used to be in the darkest, darkest holes of a place in there, man. It was the most desperate time of my life, and sometimes I had a voice in my head who said, 'Steve you have to go through this'. I thought, 'Why the hell would I have to go through this torture, this living hell?'."
His late night conversations with Bronson and other prisoners helped Stephen survive when he saw many others "broken". Stephen said: "In that darkness and all that pain, and the hardships that come with that, there's always a spark of light with human beings. We need that, the camaraderie."
During his time in solitary confinement, with all his emotions "sucked out", Stephen realised he needed to work on himself. He started to write, dreaming of being a screenwriter. But he never thought it could happen.
Since being released in 2003 and recovering from an addiction to Class A drugs 13 years ago, Stephen has written about his experience in a book - The Monkey Puzzle Tree - since adapted for film. This year, he released a true crime book -In Justice, Love and Honour - and he's built a career as a public speaker on crime and punishment.
He also runs the Stephen Gillen Foundation, educating disadvantaged kids, and Roar Media Creative, a media and PR company. He said entrepreneurship saved his life and he believes supporting people's interests and creativity could be a way out for others too, pointing to Bronson's writing, and charity fundraising.
Stephen said: "It didn't kill him or anything like that, but he's spent so long behind the door, and I've come out, I've progressed and I've completely transformed my whole life, and he's still in there."
He added: "There are more productive ways. The numbers on people who re-offend are just atrocious. That's not by chance. It's a consistent statistic. There are many reasons why that is, but it always starts at the root. It would be a lot better for society for these people to become actual, productive members of society."
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