South Yorkshire inmate clubbed prison ‘bully’ with chair leg

A violent South Yorkshire prisoner who clubbed a fellow inmate over the back of the head with a chair leg was fighting back against bullies, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
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Ade Christie attacked the man without warning as he returned to his cell after collecting his lunch at HMP Lindholme on October 5, 2018.

His victim felt his ears pop and blood flow from his head. He was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where seven staples were used to close the wound.

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In a statement, the complainant, who had one month left before his release, said: "The assault really freaked me out. It was a significant injury. It made me feel vulnerable.

HMP LindholmeHMP Lindholme
HMP Lindholme

"I have lost my confidence. This has impacted me really badly."

The court heard Christie has 18 previous convictions for 27 offences, including robbery, in 2000 and 2002, wounding in 2005, and battery in 2012.

In 2014, a conviction for actual bodily harm and robbery led to an extended sentence, and another conviction for a similar attack in 2015, while he was in prison, resulted in a 30-month sentence. He was serving that when the 2018 attack happened.

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David Birrell, mitigating, conceded it was a serious assault and custody was inevitable.

"It was a single blow," he said. "There was a background here. It appears the complainant and his associates had waged a campaign of bullying and violence against this defendant.

"They squirted urine on his bedding. They made threats to his life. They made vile threats against his children.

"He reported this but his complaints fell on deaf ears. This was his misguided and totally inappropriate way of standing up to his tormentors.

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"He has a bad record. But he has made progress. He has aspirations of going into watchmaking. He wants to move on in life. In custody he helps less literate prisoners with letter writing."

Christie, aged 39, now of HMP Doncaster, pleaded guilty to wounding, on October 1, after initially denying the charge.

Judge Peter Kelson QC told him: "This was one massive cowardly blow.”

He sentenced Christie to two years and six months which will run from today.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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