He claims he has made excellent progress in prison and in the past five years has not added to the string of violent attacks on staff that have kept him behind bars for so long. In an audio message to Sky News from his cell at Woodhill Prison, Bronson said: “I bet you can’t believe I’m still in there, can you? “It’s total freedom. I’m 70 years old now, 70 years old. I’ve never murdered anybody, I’ve never raped anybody. Why am I in prison? People don’t believe it. They think I’m ‘I’m a serial killer.’ His lawyer Dean Kingham urged Attorney General Dominic Raab to show mercy and grant Bronson, who now calls himself Charles Salvador after his artist hero Salvador Dali, a free pardon. Mr Kingham wrote in the letter: “You have the power under the prerogative of Mercy to allow Mr Salvador to be released without requiring him to go before the Parole Board… he has not been violent for many years and his danger addressed mainly to prison administrators. “The evidence going back five years is clear that his risk of violence has declined significantly.” The lawyer later said: “The argument is that if he has been able to demonstrate that he is not violent in very high-risk situations in custody to staff, governors, etc., then the risk disappears if he is released to the public because historically, while there has been a risk to the public, he was never as serious as he was to prison staff and administrators. “There is very good evidence from psychological research that as one gets older the risk of violence decreases. “As one approaches 70, the research shows the risk drops to zero. Now, it’s at that age.” He said he accepted that Bronson might pose some risk to the public, but added: “The Parole Board regularly releases people convicted of murder. The whole process is based on risk reduction.” Armed robberies, hostage-takings and violent attacks Bronson was sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery in 1974. Apart from two brief periods of freedom, he has been in prison ever since, for other robberies and violent attacks on jailers and governors. In 1999, he took hostage in Hull Prison a terrified art teacher who had criticized his drawing ability and, wielding a makeshift spear and a broken bottle, dragged him along with a rope around his neck for two days. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of three years and has since been turned down for parole. Three years ago, Bronson was tried and acquitted of attempted grievous bodily harm to a governor at Wakefield Prison. In a second bid for freedom, Bronson is set to reapply for parole. Image: Bronson is pictured in a 2018 court draft “They want him to play board games with prison guards” It is likely to be the first ever held in public because last year his legal team won a Supreme Court ruling to establish an inmate’s right to a public parole hearing. His lawyer said Bronson had become a “political prisoner” with Justice Department officials blocking his ability to demonstrate his progress and win a chance to move to a less restrictive prison by setting “ridiculous” tests. “For example,” said Mr Kingham, “they want him to play board games with prison guards, which he refuses to do, so he’s being held in the intensive care unit as a Category A prisoner and that has to affect the Parole Board.” Bronson said in his message to Sky News: “I am the first man in Britain to have a public hearing (parole hearing) and the reason I am doing this is that I am going to expose the system for what it has done to me. “Everything comes out in the wash, my side of the story, and the truth is man, it’s going to shock the planet.” He signed off: “And between you and me I can still do 95 press ups in 30 seconds so I’m still the boss. Good luck your old Charlie.”
