A man in Swansea, Wales, has been arrested 12 times after repeatedly standing in the middle of the same road and blocking traffic, but he has never publicly explained why he keeps doing it.
asserted
he → arrest → it
David Hampson, who has become known as the “Silent Man”, began the unusual pattern in 2014 and has repeatedly returned to De La Beche Street, near Swansea Central police station.
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who → know → station
His encounters with authorities have gone far beyond simple arrests.
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encounters → go → arrests
Hampson has refused to speak to police officers, lawyers, judges, doctors and probation staff, even during criminal proceedings that have resulted in prison sentences.
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that → refuse → sentences
His silence has also led courts to examine whether he was unable to speak or was deliberately choosing not to.
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he → lead → courts
UK man keeps returning to the same road
Hampson's unusual pattern began in 2014, when he was convicted of four offences involving wilfully obstructing the free passage along a highway.
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he → keep → highway
He received a two-year conditional discharge at the time.
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He → receive → time
The following year, he was convicted of public nuisance over similar behaviour and became subject to a criminal behaviour order, or CBO, prohibiting him from obstructing public highways in England and Wales.
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he → convict → England
The order did not stop him.
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order → stop → him
According to reports of his court history, he was subsequently convicted of breaching it in 2016 and 2017.
uncertain
he → accord → 2016
In 2018, he was convicted again and received a 42-month prison sentence.
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he → convict → sentence
The location has remained remarkably consistent.
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location → remain → ?
Hampson has repeatedly chosen the area around the junction of De La Beche Street and Mount Pleasant, close to Swansea Central police station, where officers have had to deal with him standing in the road and disrupting traffic.
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officers → choose → traffic
His silence became part of the legal case
What made Hampson's case particularly unusual was not simply his decision to stand in the road.
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case → become → road
It was his refusal to explain himself afterwards.
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It → explain → himself
During police encounters and court proceedings, he repeatedly declined to answer questions.
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he → decline → questions
He also refused to enter pleas or give evidence in his own defence.
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He → refuse → defence
When he did not enter a plea, a not-guilty plea was recorded on his behalf so that proceedings could continue.
uncertain
proceedings → enter → behalf
His silence eventually became the subject of a separate legal question.
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silence → become → question
In the 2018 proceedings, the court had to consider whether Hampson was genuinely unable to speak or was capable of speaking but deliberately refusing to do so.
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Hampson → have → proceedings
The historical legal terminology used was “mute of malice”, meaning that a defendant was deliberately remaining silent, as opposed to being unable to speak.
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defendant → use → malice
Prison officers gave evidence that they had heard Hampson speak while he was in custody.
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he → give → custody
A jury ultimately found that he was “mute of malice” and convicted him of breaching his criminal behaviour order.
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he → find → order
He returned after spending years in prison
Hampson's imprisonment did not appear to end the pattern.
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imprisonment → return → pattern
In December 2021, he was again found standing in the middle of De La Beche Street near Swansea Central police station, disrupting traffic.
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he → find → traffic
Police officers initially detained him under the Mental Health Act before establishing his identity and arresting him for allegedly breaching the criminal behaviour order.
uncertain
officers → detain → order
He remained silent after his arrest and continued to refuse to speak when he appeared before Swansea Magistrates' Court.
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he → remain → Court
The case was later sent to Swansea Crown Court.
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case → send → Court
At a May 2022 hearing, he again refused to enter a plea.
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he → refuse → plea
A not-guilty plea was therefore entered on his behalf, and the case proceeded to trial.
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case → enter → trial
A psychiatrist was unable to get him to explain himself
Hampson's refusal to speak also complicated attempts to establish whether there was an underlying medical or psychiatric explanation for his behaviour.
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refusal → get → behaviour
A court-appointed psychiatrist assessed the case, but Hampson did not cooperate by speaking to the doctor.
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Hampson → appoint → doctor
The issue was therefore considered using other available evidence.
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issue → consider → evidence
The legal history surrounding Hampson has included questions about whether he had a psychological or physical condition affecting his ability to speak.
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he → surround → ability
However, the available accounts do not establish a definitive medical explanation for his repeated road obstruction.
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accounts → establish → obstruction
What the court did establish in the later proceedings was that his silence was deliberate.
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silence → establish → proceedings
Prison officers' evidence that they had heard him speak was an important part of the case.
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him → hear → case
His brother says he can talk normally
Hampson's brother has offered one of the few explanations for the behaviour, although it is important to distinguish his account from findings made by a court.
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it → say → court
According to reports, his brother said Hampson talks normally in other circumstances and suggested that his repeated arrests and imprisonment were part of a strategy to obtain food and accommodation.
uncertain
arrests → accord → food
His brother's account has been reported as a claim that Hampson deliberately chooses the cycle because prison provides him with a relatively comfortable place to stay.
uncertain
prison → report → place
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
