Russell Brand faces a future of relentless screaming and sleepless nights at HMP Wandsworth Prison, according to tennis legend Boris Becker. The former Wimbledon champion spent eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence behind bars after being convicted of concealing millions of pounds worth of assets following his bankruptcy declaration. Becker described his time at London's most notorious jail as "torture", admitting he feared he would not survive being 'caged with psychopaths'.
Brand's lengthy sentence
Brand, 51, faces a considerably lengthier stay at Wandsworth. He was handed a total sentence of 10 years and six months yesterday for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. He has been placed on the sex offenders register for life and must complete at least seven years of his sentence before being eligible for release on licence.
Prison insiders have already branded the disgraced comedian a 'marked man', warning of the 'welcoming' that awaits high-profile inmates from their fellow prisoners. Wandsworth is amongst the largest prisons in the UK, situated in south-west London, and houses between 1,300 and 1,500 inmates.
Becker's harrowing account
Becker, 58, recounted his harrowing experience behind bars in his book, Inside, published following his early release. "You can't sleep because all of it is true," he said of the rumours before he went in. "In jail people do kill themselves, people do harm themselves and people do go crazy. It's the harsh reality when you have never been to prison and that's what your lawyers don't tell you before – maybe not to scare you. HMP Wandsworth is probably one of the toughest prisons in the UK so to be put in there was quite a shock."
Becker revealed he bid farewell to his showbiz lifestyle on a Friday and remained confined to his cell until the following Tuesday as 'bedlam' broke out in the surrounding cells. Reflecting on his initial nights behind bars, he said: "This is torture. Surviving it all is an impossibility. I'm in a cage with a bunch of psychopaths. I'm alone and I'm lost."
Life inside Wandsworth
Amongst the most challenging aspects of his incarceration was the agonising pace at which time appeared to pass. "Time is your enemy inside because the clock ticks very slowly. It's 22 hours a day inside a tiny cell and that's hard." He went on to say: "In hindsight, it was probably very good for me to stand still for a long time, and 231 days is quite a long time. To truly understand what happened to me before, to put the dance together of what happened, was a relief. But it doesn't happen overnight."
"You have to take real accountability and a cell life gives you that opportunity. I like to think I'm a pretty bright guy and eventually, you start thinking about the whys, ifs and whens of all that happened. Three years later, the reason I'm doing well is because I took full accountability for the good and bad I did." Nevertheless, Becker maintained that life behind bars is no easy feat and that "it's a real punishment".
Much of daily life inside Wandsworth was governed by the prisoners themselves, Becker claimed. Yet there was a glimmer of hope in the shape of a warder, and he was convinced to speak with fellow inmates in a bid to rehabilitate some of them. He shared his life story with younger prisoners about having everything and losing it all, while endeavouring to remain positive throughout. "I read lots of books and I recommend the philosophy of stoicism to people who have issues in the free world," he said. "It's more important than ever with the trying times we live in."
Warning from a former inmate
This comes as a former HMP Wandsworth inmate has revealed that Brand 'needed to survive' the violent institution by 'keeping his head down' until he is transferred to another prison. The ex-inmate was released from HMP Wandsworth last year, according to The Sun, but has warned that Brand is a 'dead man walking' for as long as he remains at the jail.
The former inmate said: "If Brand stays in Wandsworth, he's in real trouble – a dead man walking. He won't be there permanently but needs to survive until he's got his permanent move. Wandsworth is violent, corrupt, dirty and noisy. He will be so far out of his comfort zone. When I was there staff paid prisoners to attack other inmates and violence would break out over the smallest thing. Brand will be a marked man while he is there and – if he is to stay safe – needs to move quickly."
