Stephen was sentenced to four years in prison in Italy and was released after serving just over two, during which time he was supported by Prisoners Abroad. He reflects on how the prison hierarchy can have a lasting effect on you and your outlook on life, even for those serving a shorter sentence.

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I chose to title my story ‘Opportunism and Consequence’ because I don’t think I’m alone in my feelings and the situation in which I found myself. My life has always taken this road. I have always been an opportunist and have always accepted that the decisions and choices that I make will have consequences, good and bad.

On quite a few occasions I have come very unstuck, but this is the challenge of life, and I have the attitude that if I don’t try something then I will never know if I could have been successful. It’s a risky way to live, but also exciting and, as I said, challenging.

To give an example of this, I can remember working for a painting company in my hometown when I was about 17 years old. I was told that if I was to apply for a pylon painting job then there was a great opportunity to earn some really good money. The only criteria was not being scared of heights. We parked up and walked over to the biggest pylon tower I had ever seen. “Ok fellas,” the boss said, “Vaseline up and put on your safety harnesses.” As far as the Vaseline was concerned, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. I was told to smear it all over my face, and anywhere that my skin was exposed.

Then I put the safety harness on and looked again at the pylon. I wondered how a person was supposed to climb up this thing! Well... It turns out that there are six-inch bolts sticking out the side of the beams, and this was how you climbed up.

There were four of us, so two fellas were to start at the top, and the other two in the middle and work our way down. The other fella was called the linesman, and he stayed on the ground watching for bad weather and supplying us with refills of paint if we needed it.

One side of this pylon was turned off, and the other side was still on, so you could hear a dull hum coming from the side that was still active with God knows how many thousands of volts going through the cables... I think you get the picture now.

Well, I lasted about three hours, maybe less. I kept freezing on the beams, so to speak, not being able to move. My mate said to me, “you’re thinking too much, just paint!” I climbed down and made my way by bus back to the city. Pylon painting wasn’t for me! So, that gives you an idea of the kind of person I was from the time I left school!

Now to the circumstances of my imprisonment; I was looking to find a quick solution to get out of a predicament, but the saying goes “if you can’t do the time, then don’t do the crime.” How true is this! Needless to say, I was arrested by the Italian police and interrogated about my activities. I was told that I would be driven in handcuffs to Florence where I would be interned at a massive top security prison there. The whole experience seemed absolutely surreal and I really felt like I was in a Netflix movie.

After driving for an hour or so, I arrived very late at night at the prison, having no idea of the protocol and what was going to happen next. I was eventually escorted to a waiting cell and was told that I would be transferred the next day to another location within the prison. I didn’t sleep much at all wondering what the consequences of all this were going to be. I had a good idea, but didn’t have a clue to how long I would be in this situation...

I ended up being given a four-year sentence and stayed at this particular prison for about six months, experiencing various horrendous things.

There were three prisoners to an 8 ft by 6 ft cell. In prison there is a hierarchy between the inmates. The ‘harder’ the crime, the more respect that person expects (and ism usually given). A person in prison for murder is going to be there for an awful long time, if not for life. As a result they often don’t care about anyone else and have nothing to lose for bad behaviour, so are more likely to be threatening and unpredictable.

Prison is about keeping your nose clean and not interfering in anyone else’s business. I found that I was in a constant state of nervousness, always feeling tense and on my guard. This is absolutely exhausting. Everyone is feeling like this, even the prison guards, or assistants as they are known as in Italy.

I found out that one man had both his legs broken and ended up in the hospital over a religious disagreement with his cellmates. Another day, a guy that I spoke to on occasion decided to sew up his lips and go on a hunger strike because his release date had been put back. There were endless more examples of cruelty and degradation.

On one occasion I myself completely lost it. I was waiting for so many things to happen that felt completely out of my control. Every day I would ask the assistants “when?” And all they would say was ‘domani’ (which means ‘tomorrow’). I lost control and proceeded to smash up the furniture in my cell.

My two cellmates knew my frustration, and just laid on their bunks out of the way until eventually I calmed down after about an hour of madness. I was threatened with solitary confinement, but thankfully the captain of the wing understood my frustration after my great friend and cellmate explained to him my problem.

As far as Prisoners Abroad are concerned... This is a life saver of an organisation. I read the brochures that I received from front cover to back cover and the stories I read gave me hope and encouragement to do my time and keep thinking of a positive future.

I was moved to several different locations over the next couple of years before I was eventually released. I am sitting here writing this to you with a glass of wine in front of me, my favourite music playing in the background and I am fortunate to be now living in an apartment that I call home. This is what I hope for everyone currently experiencing overseas imprisonment. You can make it happen if you put your mind to it and meet the right empathic people.

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Being offered a lifeline can change everything. 

Prisoners Abroad translates human rights law into practical life-saving actions by providing prisoners access to vitamins and essential food, emergency medical care, freepost envelopes to keep in touch with home and books and magazines to help sustain mental health.

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