Paul Doyle remanded in ‘Monster Mansion’ while two prisoners killed
LFC parade crash perpetrator Paul Doyle is believed to be a prisoner at category A "Monster Mansion", which has recently seen two killings. The 54-year-old, now formerly of Burghill Road in West Derby[1], was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison on Tuesday for 31 offences after he ploughed into crowds of Liverpool fans at the title-winning parade in May.
Doyle was said to have used his two-tonne Ford Galaxy as a "weapon" when he injured 134 people[2], ranging from babies to pensioners. Merseyside's top judge told him: "The truth captured on your own dashcam is that you lost your temper in a rage, determined to force your way through the crowd regardless of the consequences."
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Doyle was remanded at category A prison HMP Wakefield before his trial. The ECHO[3] understands Doyle, who is being treated as a category A prisoner[4], has returned back to Wakefield to begin his sentence. He will likely be moved to a lower category prison at a later date after the presiding judge did not deem there to be a significant risk of him causing further serious harm[5].
Wakefield is grimly referred to as "Monster Mansion" because of its propensity for holding some of the most dangerous prisoners in the UK. Many inside the prison are serving indeterminate or life sentences because of the severe threat they pose to the public, police or national security.
The prison holds a large proportion of sex offenders and murderers among its population and violence is an everyday regularity.
And in recent weeks two people have been killed within its walls.
Ian Watkins -Credit:PA Media
Paedophile singer Ian Watkins, formerly of the band Lostprophets, was serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences including the attempted rape of a baby when he died on October 11. An inquest heard Watkins died from a stab wound to the neck. Two men have been charged in connection with his death.
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And on November 5 Kyle Bevan, who was serving a minimum of 28 years behind bars for the murder of his partner's two-year-old toddler, was found dead in his cell. Three men have been charged with murder, including 45-year-old Mark Fellows[6].
A report published by prison inspectors in September found there had been a 62% rise in violence on the previous year. The report said "many" prisoners reported feeling unsafe, "particularly older men convicted of sexual offences".
A separate report by the Independent Monitoring Board in February recorded 136 incidents of prisoner-on-prisoner violence, with another 136 prisoner-on-staff occurrences.
Kyle Bevan -Credit:Dyfed-Powys Police/PA Wire
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said there was a "serious crisis" of violence and unsafe prisoners, but the two deaths put "Wakefield into a category of its own", reported the BBC[7].
Other prisoners at Wakefield include White House Farm murderer Jeremy Bamber; John Cooper, convicted of the "Pembrokeshire murders"; and neo-Nazi and child sex offender, Jack Renshaw, who plotted to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper. Former prisoners include "Britain's most violent prisoner" Charles Bronson; Robert Maudsley, who has spent the most time ever in solitary confinement; and the UK's most prolific serial killer, doctor Harold Shipman.
HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire -Credit:PA
Simon Csoka KC, defending Doyle, told the court on Tuesday: "The defendant has been held in difficult conditions which have required vigilance on his part. The events at that prison have been well published.
I will say no more about it. He was kept some distance from his wife and family." Advertisement
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Mr Csoka added: "The defendant recognises it's fortunate the consequences of his actions weren't as grave as they might have been.
His actions weren't planned. His conduct has been difficult for him to understand and accept. It's taken him several months for him to recognise mentally what he did.
Paul Doyle sobs during his sentencing hearing -Credit:Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
"He's appealed by his own conduct, the spiralling effect of his conduct was utterly unexpected for him and utterly unexpected for all those who know him well.
There has been a period of denial, whether that can be categorised as subconscious denial is perhaps a moot point. There clearly has been an avoidance of reality. That's a well recognised phenomenon when an individual is involved in an event such as this."
The court heard this week how Doyle's own dashcam provided the most damning evidence against him[8].
The footage, too graphic to show to the public, showed Doyle shouting "f***ing move" as he drove into the crowds on Water Street.
People were thrown into the air after being hit by his car, while others went under the front bumper.
His car only came to a stop after heroic former soldier Daniel Barr managed to jump into the back seat of the Ford Galaxy and move the automatic vehicle into "park" mode.
The presiding judge, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC, said: "It is almost impossible to comprehend how any right-thinking person could act as you did.
To drive a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding."
References
- ^ West Derby (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ two-tonne Ford Galaxy as a "weapon" when he injured 134 people (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ The ECHO (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ category A prisoner (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ be a significant risk of him causing further serious harm (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ 45-year-old Mark Fellows (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
- ^ Doyle's own dashcam provided the most damning evidence against him (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)