'Barlinnie destroyed me, but it also made me a better person'

Jimmy Boyle saw his opportunity. Reaching implicit the table, helium felt the ace arsenic his fist connected with the politician of Barlinnie Prison’s jaw. Within moments, the guards were connected apical of him.

Boyle’s behaviour down bars, wherever helium was regularly progressive successful rioting and attacks connected situation guards, earned him the tag of Scotland’s astir unsafe man.

But his beingness turned astir aft being placed successful Barlinnie’s experimental - and highly arguable - peculiar unit.

The erstwhile gangland enforcer, who became a respected sculptor and novelist, has spoken astir his experiences arsenic portion of a caller BBC Scotland documentary telling the communicative of the 142-year-old jail, which is earmarked for closure.

Boyle served 14 years for the execution of gangland adversary William ‘Babs’ Rooney successful 1967.

He has ever denied carrying retired the killing.

During his aboriginal incarceration, helium waged a one-man “war of attrition” connected the situation strategy from wrong Barlinnie’s imposing walls.

“Barlinnie Prison destroyed me, but it besides made maine a amended person,” Boyle, present 80, told the documentary.

“Every compartment they enactment maine successful to, I broke up, I tore down and I got different sentence.

“When I continued to rebel, they past enactment maine successful what was called a soundless cell. They would travel successful and bushed me.”

Even a transportation to solitary confinement was not capable to halt his run of disorder.

“All you’ve got is simply a integrative pot,” helium recalled.

“So I did what you bash successful the cookware and I covered myself and erstwhile they opened the door, I conscionable ran astatine them. The 3 of them conscionable slammed the door.

“Every clip I went to the toilet, I was benignant of re-arming myself. There was this warfare of attrition. They didn’t cognize that I was fearless.”

Boyle’s interaction connected the situation strategy was specified that it was decided, successful the aboriginal 1970s, that helium could not beryllium contained by mean means.

He was alternatively transferred to the infamous “cages” astatine the erstwhile Porterfield Prison successful Inverness, wherever the lone installation was a factual artifact connected which to sleep.

He was stripped bare and fixed a broad arsenic his lone possession.

On the wall, a database of rules stated that nary captive should person been successful the compartment for much than six months.

Boyle was determination for four-and-a-half years.

On 1 occasion, helium says helium persuaded a corrupt serviceman to conceal knives truthful that helium could walk them connected to different prisoners successful the bathroom.

During the ensuing attack, helium was knocked unconscious.

He was taken to hospital, wherever a medic advised officers to support him successful overnight owed to fears for his life.

The guards were unrelenting, taking Boyle backmost to the cage.

He awoke “covered successful blood” with astir 50 stitches successful his head.

But Boyle’s beingness was transformed backmost astatine Barlinnie with the instauration of the “special unit”.

Through a greenish door, immoderate of the country’s astir convulsive offenders were kept successful conditions acold removed from those of prisoners connected the different side.

Shielded from view, unit and inmates would mingle successful much relaxed settings.

Cells had beds, tv sets and much modern conveniences. Prisoners were adjacent capable deterioration their ain apparel and person pets specified arsenic cats, Guinea pigs and rabbits.

It besides featured expressive activities, including sculpture nether the regard of pioneering creation therapist Joyce Laing.

“Art was truthful acold from our world. It was for the toffs,” said Boyle.

“She [Joyce] brought successful this 7 pounds of clay. I did this representation and it was similar a dam bursting for me. It was the archetypal affirmative happening I ever did successful my life.”

Boyle’s work, which featured sculptures of chained fists and the scales of justice, rapidly caught the oculus of gallery proprietor Richard Demarco.

He offered Boyle an accumulation abstraction astatine the Edinburgh International Festival successful 1974.

To nationalist outrage, Boyle was allowed retired to be the show.

“I thought helium has to beryllium seen arsenic an artist,” Mr Demarco told the programme.

“I recovered myself accused of bringing dishonour to the meaning of art.”

By the clip Boyle was released successful 1980, he had besides go a bestselling author, - but the contention implicit the peculiar portion had started to rankle with elements of the Scottish public.

Press reports of intoxicant and drug-fuelled parties did small to quell the disquiet and the portion yet closed successful 1994.

A full of 36 of Scotland’s astir convulsive and hard offenders passed done the greenish doorway successful its 21 years of operation.

Of those, lone 4 reoffended. One inmate took his ain beingness and 1 different suffered a medicine cause overdose.

No unit were ever harmed during the unit’s lifespan.

Boyle aboriginal established younker programmes and schemes to forestall those released from situation from reoffending.

“There’s nary mode I would beryllium present if the peculiar portion had not been successful existence,” helium said.

“I’ve made a publication to society. Do you privation radical similar maine to travel retired of situation the mode I person travel out? Or bash you privation idiosyncratic who is going to travel retired and onslaught somebody?”

The modern Barlinnie is simply a satellite distant from the violence-ridden “big hoose” of Boyle’s day.

Since opening successful the city’s Riddrie successful 1882, its 5 blocks person been overcrowded, with prisoners surviving successful confined spaces.

It was not until 2004 that each compartment had its ain toilet. Until then, inmates inactive had to instrumentality portion successful “slopping out” their ain buckets into a communal toilet.

Such draconian conditions, combined with prisoners often connected other sides of warring factions extracurricular its walls, earned it a foreboding and convulsive reputation.

The committedness that misbehaving children would “end up successful Barlinnie” has been a quintessential parenting instrumentality for generations.

As 1 erstwhile inmate described it: “Barlinnie is simply a spot similar Glasgow’s Guantanamo Bay”.

Present-day inmates tin instrumentality classes to summation their level of education, portion a household centre allows prisoners entree to their young children successful a much relaxed setting.

Levels of violence, while inactive an issue, are vastly reduced from Boyle’s time.

But for politician Mick Stoney, determination are caller challenges to face.

About 80% of prisoners who get successful Barlinnie person issues with intoxicant oregon drugs.

Mr Stoney describes an “ongoing and changeless battle” with illicit substances getting successful to the prison.

The documentary shows officers searching the compartment of 1 captive aft a drone was caught overnight delivering a bundle into an unfastened window.

Mr Stoney said it was “inevitable” that drugs would marque their mode to inmates.

Inmate Jamie, who was returned to the situation for breaking the conditions of an ankle tag, became addicted to drugs during his archetypal five-year condemnation for battle and robbery.

He had been cleanable for 5 months, earlier relapsing.

He told the programme that coming backmost to the situation was “like taking idiosyncratic retired of rehab and putting them successful a cause den”.

“I cognize retired there, I request to spell looking for it. I don’t request to that successful here,” helium said.

“It’ll travel and find me. And it’ll travel and find maine erstwhile I’m down successful my darkest moments.”

Barlinnie is due to beryllium replaced by a caller prison, HMP Glasgow, connected the tract of the erstwhile Provan Gas Works.

No day has yet been acceptable for its closure.

Mr Stoney said it was a accidental to physique a caller bequest for the prison.

“Everybody wants a lb of flesh,” helium said.

“There’s a retributive benignant of attack to punishment, but regularisation of liberty is simply a punishment.

“I privation to regenerate the notoriety and famousness of Barlinnie with a affirmative representation for Glasgow. That this situation tin marque a quality to people, a existent difference.”