A HMP Durham prisoner ended up losing an eye after a murderer attacked him with a razor blade in a cell.
Derek Paul Pallas was on remand and awaiting the start of his trial for murdering a man in Teesside when he carried out the gruesome attack on Christmas Eve, 2018. The 39-year-old armed himself with a razor blade inside his clenched fist before attacking the victim, who was being held down by another prisoner. The attack was so violent, the victim later had to have an eye removed.
Pallas, of Sycamore Park, Brandon, Durham, was subsequently given a life sentence for stabbing Peter Gilling to death in Billingham on September 29, 2018, after being found guilty following a trial. On Tuesday, Pallas appeared at Durham Crown Court, via link from HMP Full Sutton, to be sentenced for the causing grievous bodily harm with intent incident.
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Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said Pallas was on remand at HMP Durham while awaiting trial for Mr Gilling's murder when the incident occurred. He said the victim was told he was wanted in a cell by another inmate - who has also been dealt with by the courts for being involved in the attack. It was then that Pallas, who had a razor blade in his fist, attacked the man and "struck him in the eye".
Judge Adkin said the victim had to have his left eye removed following the "targeted attack" in the prison's C Wing, which he described as "a hit". He added the injury was "life changing" for the victim.
In a victim statement, the man said the attack "changed my life forever" and said he was "fearful something was going to happen" following a number of threats beforehand. He said after his surgery, the loss of his eye has impacted his peripheral vision and he was given a glass eye, which made him feel self-conscious. However, the glass eye was uncomfortable and "irritated" him, so he resorted to removing it.
John Brown, defending, said Pallas continues to deny the offence. He said: "He still maintains it was never a bladed incident and was a punch. The courts found it was a bladed instrument, he doesn't accept the finding of the court and is still in denial. He accepts there was an injury to the eye, which the man lost." Mr Brown asked the judge to pass a concurrent sentence as Pallas is currently serving a life sentence for murder.
Judge Adkin sentenced Pallas to 11 years in prison, which will run consecutively to the life sentence he is currently serving.
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