Claire Reid
Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has said he hopes to be out for Christmas as he launches a bid for Britain’s first public parole hearing.
The 69-year-old has spent decades behind bars, but revealed he was applying for a public parole hearing when applications open later this month.
In an interview with the Mirror, the infamous convict, who now goes by the name Charles Arthur Salvador, said authorities ‘start playing games’ whenever his parole comes up and claimed he had been made to wait ‘two-and-a-half years’ to be heard.
He told the news outlet: “They have now said it's been put back again to December 12 so by the time I go up, if I go up, as it's possible they could put it back again, that will have been three years of my life I may not have had to serve."
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He added: “It could be because I'm going to have a public hearing, which I've fought for and I'm going to get.”
He previously said he hopes to have a public hearing so he can ‘expose the system’ and says he is eager to get his ‘side of the story’ out.
He now has his hopes pinned on being released before Christmas, saying that would ‘be nice’.
“For once in my life I’ve fought the right way,” he continued.
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“I’ve swallowed my humble pie, wiped my mouth, I haven’t attacked anyone for years, I’m just an artist.”
Bronson, who turns 70 later this year, went on to insist that he’s not a ‘dangerous man’ and that he's 'not a danger to anybody'.
If released, he says, he could go to schools and urge children to stay away from crime.
Earlier this month, his lawyer Dean Kingham called on Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to grant a pardon.
He wrote: “You have the power under the Prerogative of Mercy to grant Mr Salvador's release without requiring him to go in front of the Parole Board.
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“He has not been violent for a significant number of years and his risk is primarily towards prison governors. The evidence in excess of the last five years is clear that his risk of violence has significantly reduced.
“The argument is that if he's been able to demonstrate that he's not violent in very high-risk situations in custody towards staff, governors, etc. then the risk falls away if he's released into the public because historically, whilst there was a risk to the public, it's never been as severe as that towards prison staff and governors.
“There is very good psychological research evidence that as someone ages the risk of violence decreases.
“When someone approaches 70 the research shows that the risk drops off to zero. Now, he's at that age bracket.
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“The Parole Board regularly releases people that have been convicted of murder. The whole process is based on reduction of risk.”