Hugh Collins, the Glasgow killer freed from a life term, has described the razor gang scene that shaped his violent life and admitted he was a "monster" during his time in prison.
Speaking to the Record in 2020, during his 28th year of freedom, Collins reflected on his past. He was sentenced to life at age 26 for the murder of gangland rival Willie Mooney.
Collins admitted that in prison he was out of control, determined to kill prison officers after suffering a beating by guards. In the first few weeks of his sentence, he stabbed three guards, one in the neck, cementing his unofficial title as Scotland's most dangerous prisoner. At the time, he revelled in it, as it separated him from the rest of the jail population and made him feel special.
Razor Gang Youth
Collins said: "It was a brutal world I fell into. All the razor gangs were forming, marking out territory, going out stealing and fighting."
He grew up in the Roystonhill area of Glasgow, formerly known as Garngad, and by age 15 was a key member of the Shamrock. His life revolved around fighting rival gangs, especially their main enemy, the black-clad Calton Tongs.
He said: "The whole scene was macho and violent, but certain people stood out because they never backed down. The Tongs never ran from a fight – and neither did we.
"There was a part of me that was excited by the violence, that savoured the anticipation, but what I'd never have admitted at the time was the fear I felt as well. When you're fighting with knives and razors, you know you could end up dead, and anyone who says they have no fear is probably lying. But I think my fear made me ruthless."
A meat cleaver opened up Collins' face from ear to neck in one fight, requiring 97 stitches. The scar still stands out, but if the blow had been an inch lower, it would have gone through his jugular.
Brutal Prison Years
Collins served time in many of Scotland's jails and was locked in cells, cages, and underground rooms that were effectively dungeons. He always tried to fight back and admitted he would have killed a prison officer if the opportunity and right weapon presented itself.
His weapons were makeshift, cobbled together from tape, string, razor blades, and the odd potato-peeler stolen from kitchens. Every time he managed to punch or head-butt an officer, retaliation would follow with four to eight men with steel-capped boots dishing out punishment.
One prison stood out – Perth, where he was taken regularly to an underground cell and visited daily for beatings. He said: "I think people might have difficulty believing how bad it was but I remember beatings where I was hit with truncheons so hard I woke with splinters in my head. I had my nose broken, ribs broken, my skull fractured.
"They had to take me to hospital with the fractured skull and the medics wanted to know how it had happened but there were always officers with me and I was still conditioned not to grass."
Lasting Torment
Collins described one thing that stays with him as "torture". He said: "You knew when you were in for a doing because they always made you take your shoes off at the door so it was harder for you to hurt them. I was often handcuffed face down, sometimes stripped naked and I remember a time they were threatening to humiliate me with a baton, so I was relieved they used it to knock me out.
"But the worst thing, which still causes me agony today, was being whacked repeatedly on the soles of my feet. They left me crippled for days at a time.
"Looking back, I know I was a monster. I felt like a monster. But how much of it was in me and how much they created is probably up for debate."
