In a shocking and revolting assault at HMP Bullingdon, Godwin Dayoni, a 21-year-old serving prisoner, launched a sickening attack on a prison officer that earned him an additional three and a half years behind bars.
The appalling act is a stark reminder of the growing violence crisis faced by prison staff across England and Wales.
Dayoni, now held at HMP Wandsworth, was slapped with the extra time after his guilty plea at Oxford Crown Court to a Section 24 Offences Against the Person offence.
His two-year suspended sentence for a previous robbery was also activated, extending his prison stay.
This horrifying incident adds to a grim tally.
The Ministry of Justice’s latest statistics reveals that 7,229 prison staff were assaulted in England and Wales in the 12 months leading up to December 2022.
Among these, a staggering 1,830 were categorised as serious assaults. While the assault rate per 1,000 prisoners witnessed a 7% decrease, there’s a chilling undercurrent.
The rate dropped by 8% in male establishments but alarmingly rose by 12% in female establishments over the previous year.
Dayoni’s sickening assault took place on the morning of 12th July 2021, when he ran into an office in the Dorton Unit, carrying a washing-up bowl filled with urine and faecal matter.
Without warning, he hurled the filthy contents at the unsuspecting officer, who was left humiliated and requiring hospital treatment.
In March 2023, as part of the efforts to curb these attacks, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales upped the maximum sentence for assaulting a prison officer from 12 months to 18 months.
The move followed a series of prosecutions with 1,050 people convicted of assaulting a prison officer in the 12 months leading to December 2022.
Interestingly, 150 were handed custodial sentences, with ten having their sentences increased under the new guidelines.
But the accurate scale of the crisis remains hidden.
Fear of reprisals and the perception that their plight will be ignored mean many assaults go unreported, suggesting the actual number of assaults is likely far more significant than official figures suggest.
On the one hand, we have this sort of disgraceful behaviour while on the other, convicts must now be called something different because they find the term convict offensive. They ARE convicts. They have been convicted. End of discussion.
As for this vile individual, if that is how he behaves while incarcerated, how can he ever be considered for release? He is clearly a menace to society. Keep him where he is.
The only light shining on the prison service is Charles Bronson. Convicted of armed robbery in the 70s, his behaviour behind bars has been so appalling he is still there. Good. The general public is safe and that is the way it should be.
All I hope for is that this character keeps misbehaving and has his sentence lengthened by appreciable periods every time. With any luck, he will never be free.