Infamous prisoner Charles Bronson has said he will expose the prison system for what it's done to him and the truth will "shock the planet." The 69-year-old jailbird, who's been behind bars for nearly 50 years, has spoken out ahead of his proposed public parole hearing.
Bronson, whose family hail from Aberystwyth, was initially jailed for seven years for armed robbery in 1974. But, aside from two brief stints on the outside, he's been banged up ever since for carrying out a number of violent attacks on prison staff whilst incarcerated.
In a new voice message to Sky News, he said, "Hopefully I've got a date soon for my parole hearing - I'm the first man in Britain to have public one.
"The reason for that is I'm going to expose the system for what it's done to me. I bet you can't believe I'm still in, can ya?"
In 1999 Bronson earned himself a life sentence, with a minimum term of three years, for taking his art teacher hostage at Hull prison after he criticised his drawing ability. Then, in 2019, Bronson stood trial and was acquitted on a charge of attempted grievous bodily harm on a governor at Wakefield jail in West Yorkshire.
Now 70-years-old, he added: "I've never murdered anyone, never raped anyone - what am I in jail for? People think I'm a serial killer. But it's all going to come out in the wash, my side of the story. And the truth will shock the planet."
A prolific artist, Bronson changed his name to Salvador in 2014 in honour of surrealist painter Salvador Dali and has spent the last several years writing books and trying to encourage kids to stay out of gangs.
His solicitor Dean Kingham urged Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to show mercy and grant his client a free pardon.
"When someone approaches 70 the research shows that the risk drops off to zero," said Kingham. "Now, he's at that age bracket. The Parole Board regularly releases people that have been convicted of murder. The whole process is based on reduction of risk."
Read next:
