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Charles Bronson Criminal

Charles Bronson (born Michael Gordon Peterson, 6 December 1952) is an English criminal often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain". Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, he became a petty criminal before being sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1974. While in prison he began making a name for himself as a loose cannon, often fighting convicts and prison officers. He also embarked on one man rooftop protests. Regarded as a problem prisoner, he was moved 120 times throughout Her Majesty's Prison Service and spent most of that time in solitary confinement. What was originally a seven year term stretched out to a fourteen year sentence that resulted in his first wife, Irene, with whom he had a son, leaving him. He was released on 30 October 1988 but only spent sixty-nine days as a free man before he was arrested again. Upon his release he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter was unhappy with his name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery, and continued to prove a difficult inmate, instigating numerous hostage situations. While in jail in 2001 he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed. This second marriage lasted four years before he was divorced and renounced Islam. Bronson is one of the most high profile criminals in Britain, and has been the subject of books, interviews and studies in prison reform and treatment. He is the subject of the 2008 film Bronson, the story based loosely around significant events during his life. In addition Bronson has himself written many books about his experiences and famous prisoners he has met throughout his internment. A self-declared fitness fanatic who spent multiple years in segregation, Bronson dedicated a book to working out in confined spaces. In his own words "I'm a nice guy, but sometimes I lose all my senses and become nasty. That doesn't make me evil, just confused."