The Strangeways prisoner who staged a 12-hour protest on the roof of HMP Manchester last night was handed a further jail term for criminal damage to another prison cell this morning.
Joe Outlaw, 36, appeared before judge Nicholas Clarke KC at Bolton Crown Court at 10am today (April 13), having climbed down from Strangeways’ roof at 4.15am.
He admitted to causing criminal damage to his cell at HMP Hindley on January 28 last year. The court heard that Outlaw spent the early evening making threats he would smash up his care and separation unit (CSU) cell to prison guards outside. He was ‘irate’, prosecutor James Preece said.
Outlaw then spent the night trashing his cell, causing more than £17,000 worth of damage.
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During his rampage, Outlaw pulled a toilet and sink away from the wall, flooding the room, Mr Preece continued. He also ripped plasterboard out, exposing pipework which he then damaged. He took aim at light fittings, flooring, and furniture.
However, the most concerning damage was done to himself, after he used a bic razor blade to cut his stomach. The wound was 8cm (3 in) in length, and was so deep it exposed his stomach lining — and required first aid plus hospital treatment.
“Outlaw said he trashed it because the staff refused to take him to hospital and said to another officer it was because he had £30 taken off him, referencing a dispute about HMP Hindley’s finance department,” Mr Preece told a packed courtroom 4 via video link, explaining the defendant’s motives. Throughout the episode, prison staff decided not to try and extract Outlaw from the cell due to concerns for both his safety and theirs.
In all, to restore the cell back to its pre-vandalism condition would have cost £17,064, the prosecutor said, due to the fact it was an anti-ligature safety cell — and therefore had more security features than a standard cell. However, due to this high cost, prison bosses decided to convert the cell into a ‘standard separation unit’, at a cost of £7,700.
Representing Outlaw was David Bentley. He said his client, who has 33 previous convictions for 70 offences at the age of 36, carried out the violent act as a ‘cry for help’.
“This incident has references to £30 [being taken off him],” the defence barrister explained.
“That’s not the reason why he took the decision to damage his cell. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“It was the dislocation of a high dosage of medication which brought about a deterioration in his mental health. He suffers from ADHD, PTSD, and OCD and was receiving doses of pregabalin and concerta.
“He was on a high dose and moved to Hindley, and there were issues with resources and personnel. That may have had an impact on the availability of a doctor in that environment to continue his prescription.
“The consequences of not having that brought about significant detoxification symptoms. That, coupled with other side effects of losing four family members who passed away [recently] had an impact on his mental health. It was a cry for help.”
Presiding over the case, Judge Clarke KC handed Outlaw a sentence of 16 months imprisonment, to be bolted on to his existing jail term. Outlaw pleaded guilty at the first opportunity at Wigan Magistrates’ Court, so was awarded one-third credit off his sentence.
However, the 16 month sentence is well above the minimum for this sort of an offence, the Judge explained.
“It would have cost £17,00 to restore the cell to its original look but it was reduced to a standard cell at a cost of £7,700,” he told Outlaw, who appeared via videolink from HMP Manchester just hours after his all-night rooftop protest, wearing a yellow-blue jumper with a yellow sash.
“That has an impact on the prison estate. There are only 10 cells for segregation for unstable, destabilising, or violent prisoners [in HMP Hindley]. Your position is heavily aggravated by the 70 offences on your record, including many for criminal damage.”
Joe Outlaw, also known as Chris Attiller Hordosi, was given a 16 month prison sentence for committing criminal damage at HMP Hindley on January 28, 2022. He will serve half of that sentence before he can be considered for release.
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