Charles Bronson insisted in court November 14 he would not have bitten off the nose of a prison governor during an alleged attack saying: "I'm a vegetarian and all". The prisoner, who is currently defending himself in a trial at the Leeds Crown Court, U.K., made the comment while he was cross-examining Mark Docherty, a governor at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Wakefield who accused Bronson of attempting serious harm on January 25 this year.
The jurors in court heard the 65-year-old inmate, who denied the charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, had pinned the governor to the ground in the prison before a welfare meeting and allegedly told him: "I will bite you f***ing nose off and I will gouge your eyes out."
The Daily Mail reported Bronson assured everyone in the court: "I can assure you I have never bitten anyone's nose off in my life. Plus, I'm a vegetarian and all." Bronson demonstrated to the court how fast he could throw blows by punching his own hands in the dock. He is a serving prisoner at HMP Frankland in County Durham and said: "In three seconds, I could hit a man ten times in the face."
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Addressing Docherty, Bronson then said: "If I had used both hands, I would have hit you 20 times in the face. Do you accept that?" When the governor then denied that, Bronson spoke of how, because of the speed at which the prison staff caught hold of him and moved him away, he was only on top of Docherty for three seconds and did not throw a single blow. He said: "But why did I not throw a punch? Because I wasn't going to punch you. I wasn't going to hurt you."
The court then heard Docherty suffered from a swollen neck, scratches on his face, and whiplash after the alleged attack. Bronson said outright he was struggling to contain his laughter at the thought the governor suffered from whiplash. He said: "I don't think that in a month of Sundays you had whiplash. I think you're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. Is that true?" The governor indicated to the court that this wasn't true.
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The jurors were told, before Bronson married actress Paula Williamson at the prison in November last year, he was told he and his new wife would be given just 22 wedding photographs, all of which were taken by prison staff, and no guests would be allowed to take pictures inside. Docherty said the prison staff, however, decided not to give the pictures to Williamson after they heard a member of the "paparazzi" was among the wedding guests.
Bronson asked the prison governor: "How do you feel about humiliating my wife? How do you feel about the fact that my wife was the only bride in Britain on that day not to have a wedding photograph? How would you feel if that was your wife or husband? I don't know what happens in your personal life, you may have a wife or a husband."
Britain's most violent prisoner Charles Bronson is divorcing today's guest Paula Williamson - @PaulitaVonDita
Questioning the governor on whether not handing over the pictures to his wife was possibly the motivation behind his alleged attack, Bronson asked: "Is it possible that all I was going to do was get you in a bear hug, a gentle one, and just whisper in your ear 'where are my wife's wedding photos?'."
Carl Fitch, the prosecutor, said once the inmate was restrained, Bronson told officers he wanted to attack Docherty since November last year after he "disrespected my wife". Fitch said: "The prison would never allow these photographs to be taken outside the prison, as they feared that Ms. Williamson would give them to the media if they did."
"The Crown says that it is for that reason, among others, that [he] had a grudge against Mr. Docherty, who he held responsible for the withholding of these photographs." As the prosecutor was taking a big sip of water in the morning session, Bronson, who has served 40 years behind bars, was reportedly heard saying: "I hope that's not gin". The trial continues and will conclude at the end of this week.
