By 2014 things on the wings of Liverpool's privately-run Altcourse prison had gotten so bad the men serving their sentences there felt compelled to carry a weapon "at all times".
The volatile situation, especially tense in the troubled Valentines Green wing, exploded into tragedy on November 14 that year - claiming the life of 35-year-old dad-of-two Darren Ashcroft.
It is telling that when Mr Ashcroft was killed, stabbed to death in his cell by fellow inmate Keir Michael, he was carrying a knife in the pocket of his prison shorts.
