He may still be keeping his Bible close to his chest, but the smart suit and silk cravat that Russell Brand wore during his trial have been replaced with drab prison gear.
uncertain
Brand → keep → gear
After he was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Monday for rape and sexual assault, the disgraced 51-year-old comedian is said to have spent ‘hours on end’ meditating and reading the Bible while trying to avoid other inmates.
asserted
comedian → sentence → inmates
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘He’s tried hard to maintain a dignified and calm manner, though being jailed for so long is obviously going to be causing him huge distress.
asserted
jailed → tell → distress
‘He’s been trying not to show fear so is staying in his cell as much as he can.
asserted
he → try → cell
‘Brand got a couple of books from the library – a Bible and some prayer books.
asserted
Brand → get → library
He’s been reading, meditating and praying for hours on end.’
So, what did Brand’s first 24 hours behind bars look like after he was sentenced and what conditions can he expect to face at HMP Wandsworth?
In stark contrast to the cheeky wink that Brand gave his wife Laura at the beginning of his sentencing hearing, as he was eventually led out of the dock he tried to assure her that everything would be ‘alright’ and mouthed ‘I love you’ before being taken back into custody.
asserted
I → read → custody
Later that afternoon, as Brand’s van pulled up to the gates of HMP Wandsworth at 4.30pm, a number of people had gathered to heckle the rapist as he arrived.
asserted
he → pull → rapist
A prisoner transport van leaves HMP Wandsworth in south London on Monday morning, ahead of Brand's sentencing
Sources say Brand, 51, has spent most of his time in prison so far in his cell
One woman who had been walking her dog past the Victorian jail shouted: ‘Rot in hell you rapist, you f***ing pig.
asserted
who → leave → hell
Your poor family, you’re a disgrace.
asserted
you → ’re → ?
You deserve everything you’re getting.’
asserted
you → deserve → everything
Another man who was walking past shouted: ‘You dirty p****.’
asserted
who → walk → *
Along with members of the public, inmates reportedly welcomed Brand to the infamous south London jail by chanting: ‘There’s a Brand new n***e on the wing!
uncertain
inmates → welcome → wing
Brand, you c***, you ain’t so f***ing lairy now.’
asserted
you → ai → ?
Brand had been held in a one-man cell at the Victorian prison since Thursday, after receiving his conviction, while he awaited his sentencing hearing this week.
asserted
he → hold → hearing
On first arriving at HMP Wandsworth, Brand was put in the induction wing before being placed in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU), the segregation and solitary confinement area – also known as ‘The Block’ or ‘The Seg’ – where high-risk inmates are housed.
asserted
inmates → arrive → Block
Prisoners within the CSU spend most of the day locked in their cells – with movement tightly controlled and limited access to education and social interaction.
asserted
movement → spend → education
The CSU unit is located mostly below ground level in what are known as the ‘bowels’ of the Victorian prison, with the actor now jokingly being called ‘Russell from the Block’.
asserted
actor → locate → Block
Prison governors can put an inmate in segregation for up to 72 hours at first, before a review board decides whether this should be extended, so it remains to be seen whether Brand will remain protected in the unit.
asserted
Brand → put → unit
Brand was remanded to notorious Wandsworth Prison following his conviction last week
A prison cell at HMP Wandsworth.
asserted
Brand → remand → Wandsworth
Brand had been held in a one-man cell at the Victorian prison since Thursday
Hi, I'm Alex Matthews, Editor of The Crime Desk.
asserted
I → hold → Desk
Russell Brand has been found guilty of rape and three sexual assaults - and our reporters Caroline Cheetham and Liz Hull were in court every day to witness it all.
asserted
reporters → find → it
They sat down with Detective Inspector Laura Nelson who revealed why the women who accused him in the infamous documentary were not involved in his rape trial.
asserted
who → sit → trial
Guards at Wandsworth decided that Brand was too famous for the ‘Vulnerable Prisoners’ (VPs) wing, where rapists and other sex offenders are usually held.
asserted
rapists → decide → wing
Brand is believed to be locked up in his own cell in C-wing, which houses around 100 fellow prisoners, most of whom are VPs.
asserted
most → believe → whom
Fellow prisoners said there is an atmosphere of excitement with lags desperate to get a glimpse of the celebrity.
asserted
lags → say → celebrity
The rapist is in his own cell for the moment, reserved for VPs, and has access to gym equipment, including pull up and dip bars, a football pitch and a basketball court.
asserted
rapist → reserve → bars
A prison source said he’ll remain safe in C-wing.
asserted
he → say → wing
‘He’s in no real danger in there with other VPs, he’s protected.
asserted
he → ’ → VPs
Daniel, a sex offender on his wing who was released on Tuesday, said it’s like ‘Sainsburys’ for Brand and other rich felons.
asserted
it → release → Brand
‘With money he’ll be able to get whatever he wants.
asserted
he → get → whatever
It’s like Sainsburys’.
asserted
It → ’ → Sainsburys
Brand was medically examined and strip-searched before being locked in a 9.8ft by 6.7ft cell – a far cry from his £5million six-bedroom home in Oxfordshire.
asserted
Brand → examine → Oxfordshire
Then he would have been served an evening meal and given a ‘first-night pack’ which consists of toiletries including a toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet roll and a food pack of cereal, tea, milk and sugar as well as Polos, juice sticks and digestive biscuits.
asserted
which → serve → cereal
After the heavy steel door slammed shut behind him, Brand faced a night on a rock-hard bed in a cramped cell.
asserted
Brand → slam → cell
This morning he would have been served cereal or porridge, fruit and a cup of tea.
asserted
he → serve → tea
On one of the few occasions that Brand left his cell to visit the exercise yard on his own, he was seen tightly clutching his Bible.
asserted
he → leave → Bible
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘He has come across as very humble with the few inmates he has had any interactions with.
asserted
he → tell → interactions
‘There has been teasing with songs and p***taking – but the ones he’s spoken to have tended to be quite sympathetic which may have made things slightly easier for him.’
uncertain
things → speak → him
Another source said: ‘Russell Brand was standing in the yard, looking up to the sky, holding a Bible and reading aloud from it.
‘
asserted
Brand → say → it
At that moment another prisoner spotted him from a window and shouted “Russell” which he responded to by raising his hand.
asserted
he → spot → hand
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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