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Former Inmate Recounts Charles Bronson Lending Radio to Soothe New Prisoner

The account, shared on a podcast, offers a rare humanising snapshot of a prisoner long denied parole.

Overview

  • Noel 'Razor' Smith, who served about 30 years, says he saw Bronson lend a radio to a distressed young inmate during a stint on a prison block he recalls as being in Bristol.
  • Smith recounts that Bronson took a cleaner’s radio and had officers open the newcomer’s cell so he could give it to him for comfort.
  • Speaking to podcaster Dodge Woodall, Smith described Bronson as kind-hearted yet volatile, recalling that some prisoners admired him for attacking officers.
  • Bronson, now 72 and also known as Charles Salvador, has been incarcerated since 1974 and received a discretionary life sentence in 2000 after a 44-hour hostage incident involving a prison teacher.
  • He has made eight unsuccessful bids for release, most recently in 2023, and Smith suggested his release might only come if he were gravely ill, presenting this as his personal view.