Charles Bronson has mild PTSD and is not ready for release yet, despite posing less of a risk to the public than in prison, an independent psychologist has told his parole hearing.
Bronson, who later changed his name to Charles Salvador, having been born Michael Peterson, used to find violence cathartic, but he is now able to weigh up the pros and cons and gain the same experience through his art, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes, who was commissioned by his lawyer, said.
She told the Parole Board panel that despite his past record of offending, which has led to him being imprisoned almost continuously for 48 years, she did not think Bronson posed a risk of serious harm.
On the second day of the public parole hearing at HMP Woodhill, Daynes, who was not named at the hearing but identified herself in a recent documentary about Bronson, said: “I believe that Mr Salvador poses less of a risk in a community environment than in a prison environment, and I stand by that assessment.
“Of course, I’m talking about a highly supportive community environment and I’m talking about a gradual move into a community environment.”
Daynes said Bronson, 70, was a “moderate risk” to the public but in the community it would be easier for him to “escape” people who annoyed or provoked him than in prison. She also said “serious thought” should be given to moving him to open conditions. But pressed on her recommendation, she said he should remain in closed conditions – he is currently being held in a close supervision centre with just 10 other inmates – for the time being.
Daynes said Bronson had mild post-traumatic stress disorder, partly due to some “brutal and unacceptable treatment” while in the prison system, and the biggest risk of Bronson inflicting serious harm was if he became paranoid as in the past. But she said his mental health had been stable for some years and the trajectory of his offending behaviour had “reduced significantly” since 2012.
Bronson wore a black T-shirt with white writing on it and dark, round glasses, which he said on Monday he has to wear because he is not used to light, having spent so much time in solitary confinement. He frequently rocked his chair backwards and forwards as Daynes gave evidence and looked up at the ceiling.
Bronson was jailed for seven years in 1974 for offences including armed robbery, but has spent 48 years almost continuously in prison due to violent behaviour. This has included 11 instances of hostage taking, including taking prison art teacher Phil Danielson hostage for two days in 1999, for which he received an indeterminate life sentence, with a minimum of three years, in 2000. On Monday, Bronson expressed sadness for taking Danielson hostage, but not for violence towards prison governors and officers.
Daynes said: “His use of violence towards staff members has been almost a matter of survival,” she said. “He’s got that real level of dislike for authority figures. I don’t think he has that for members of the public.”
Bronson has had seven previous unsuccessful parole hearings, which were all held in private, before the rule change allowing public hearings came into effect.
The panel will hold a closed session on Friday and will then have 14 days to reach a decision on whether Bronson should be released, moved to an open prison or not be moved.
