A distraught Charles Bronson emotionally called his elderly mother after he was denied his freedom by a parole board, telling her, “I can’t figure it out, Mom.” According to the Mirror, Bronson’s ex-wife Irene Dunroe revealed that the first phone call from the notorious criminal after receiving the bad news was to his mother, Eira.
Irene, 70, who refers to Bronson by his old name Mick Peterson, told the publication: “He was disappointed. He said he had to make the hardest phone call he’d ever had to make with his mom and said, “I can’t figure it out, Mom.”
“He said it’s the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. He didn’t want to talk to me at first because he knew I would be upset and I started to get angry during the conversation.
She said: “He’s so disappointed. He thought it was the closest he had ever been to freedom.”
Despite claiming to be a “retired prison activist” after holding 11 hostages in nine separate sieges behind bars, the 70-year-old Bronson lost his eighth attempt to be released.
The moustachioed convict was told he was still a danger to the public because he lacks the “skills to manage his risk of future violence”.
The parole board ruled: “The panel accepted that Mr. Salvador really wants to make progress and that he is motivated to work towards his release.
“It thought there was evidence of improved self-control and better emotional management.
“However, the panel was aware of his history of persistent rule violations and that Mr. Salvador sees little wrong with this.
“He lives his life strictly by his own rules and code of conduct and is quick to judge others by his own standards.
“His positive progress must be judged in the context of being held in a very restrictive environment.
According to the panel, it is not known exactly what Mr. Salvador’s risk entails.
“It is unclear whether the strong external controls of custody are mainly responsible or whether his attitude has really changed.”
Irene, who married Bronson, who is now called Charles Salvador, said: “He’s so disappointed. He thought he was the closest thing he’d ever been to freedom.
“He kept saying, ‘It’s only two or three years, I can do that, I’ve done almost 50 so I can do two and a half more’.
“He told me, “You don’t have to cry. Do not Cry. Don’t get upset. It is what it is. It just has to happen.
“He was brave. He said to me, ‘Please don’t get angry. Please don’t cry’.”
Bronson was first convicted of armed robbery in 1974 at the age of 22 and has spent a total of nearly 50 years behind bars.
In 1999, he received a life sentence for kidnapping prison teacher Phil Danielson.
He gained notoriety for being a violent man and for organizing high-profile protests, including at nine on prison roofs, at a cost of £5 million according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.