Who is ‘Britain’s hardest prisoner’ Shane Taylor?
ONCE labelled 'Britain's hardest prisoner', Shane Taylor spent his 17-year criminal career in-and-out of prison.
But one chance meeting changed his life - here's everything to know about him.
Who is Shane Taylor?
Born in Middlesbrough, Taylor was an only child who struggled with being bullied for his appearance until he reached a point where he decided to 'fight back'.
He remembers the first crime he committed when he and a friend were at the swimming baths and noticed a payphone was not locked properly, so they tore it open and stole the coins inside.
These early years were filled with theft and burglary in a lifestyle that saw him try to steal anything he could get his hands on, including cars.
The bullying he endured built a rage within him until he reached a breaking point where he decided, as Shane said himself, 'no one is going to pick on me again, everyone is going to fear me'.
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From this point, life spiralled for Taylor, in such a way that it was only going to lead to either his death or prison.
Why did Shane Taylor get sent to prison?
In 2000, Taylor was arrested on an attempted murder charge following a stabbing in Hartlepool which was later dropped to wounding with intent and affray for which he received a sentence of 4 years and 9 months.
The incident, which saw him plunge a nine-inch kitchen blade into his victim's head, came about from a lifestyle where his crimes escalated to the point where he had no fear of taking another life.
He acquired an unhealthy fixation with a scene from the film Goodfellas, where gangsters repeatedly stab a body in the boot of their car, and he would watch this over and over again.
“I was trying to be the baddest and hardest man around,” he said. “I didn’t care if I got life. I didn’t care about anything or anyone. I just wanted to maintain the reputation I had created.”
Taylor would often blackout during incidents, remembering altercations starting but nothing else, and recounts what happened from witness statements and the accounts of friends who were present.
He describes an adrenaline rush he used to feel afterwards, but on this occasion his friends were in hysterics seeing their lives as over, telling him "we're gonna get life!"
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What has Shane Taylor said?
In 2006, Taylor met fellow prisoner Robert Bull, who would go on to change his life.
Bull told Taylor that he will never get out of prison, but in his mind, he was already free.
During a period of segregation, Taylor fixated on these words and had an overwhelming urge to write to Bull.
The two continued to talk about this until Taylor walked into an Alpha course when serving in Long Lartin prison, which he now describes as a basic introduction to God.
It changed his life as he had a moment of clarity where he could see what he had done to people and how he had hurt them during his violent past.
He felt all the hate, anger and resentment seep away as he focussed on prayer and his newly found religion.
The change not only surprised his fellow inmates but the prison guards and governor, something he carried into his life when finally released from prison.
At his release hearing, he proclaimed "Jesus is real, he's come into my life, he's real, he's come into my heart."
Many thought this was just a rouse to ensure his release but he continued down this path.
Taylor now looks to use his experiences to help others, to get them to break that cycle as he did and focus on what matters in life.
Now a family man, married with five children, he looks to repent for what he did by reaching out to people he has wronged.
Taylor admits that he still has struggles but insists that God helps him deal with this and manage his anger.
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"I was the worst, you can change. If I can do it, you can do it."