Prisoner from Cornwall pours faeces over fellow inmate and guard

A prisoner from Cornwall doused a fellow inmate with a mixture of faeces, inadvertently covering a prison officer in the process. He has been given an additional jail term - but it will end before his current sentence does so he'll serve no extra time for the "utterly disgusting" attack.

Douglas Pellow, 40, appeared via video link from HMP Channings Wood at Plymouth Crown Court where he faced four charges. He admitted to maliciously administering a poison or noxious thing on November 10, 2022, with the intention to harm Victor Awadzi while in HMP Dartmoor.

Pellow, formerly of Helston, also admitted to assaulting an emergency worker - specifically a prison officer - on the same day. However, he denied a charge of maliciously administering a poison or noxious thing on November 10, 2022 with intent to injure the same prison officer and of assaulting causing actual bodily harm to the prison officer on that same day.

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Prosecutor Ian Graham clarified that the guilty pleas were accepted but requested that the charge of administering a poison with intent to injure the prison officer be left on file and that no evidence would be presented on the charge of causing actual bodily harm to the prison officer.

Francesca Whebell, Pellow's advocate, confirmed her client was currently serving time having been recalled and was awaiting a parole hearing. She revealed his earliest release date was March 2025 and he had "already been released a number of times" prior to the most recent recall in April 2023.

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Mr Graham informed the court that Pellow approached another inmate, Awadzi, who was standing on the landing by the railings and doused him with faeces and liquid. The foul mixture then fell through the open landing to two floors below where it struck a prison officer, hitting his head and splattering down his body and legs.

Mr Graham read out a victim impact statement from Awadzi who described the incident as "one of the worst things that can happen in prison", calling it "disgusting" and stating he "felt physically sick" when it occurred.

In his statement, Mr Awadzi wrote that he had to wash himself continuously for 15 to 20 minutes to try and eliminate the smell. He said he has since isolated himself and has been suffering from sleep deprivation as a result of the attack.

The prison officer's victim impact statement revealed he remembered the overpowering stench of the faeces and how it hit his head and splashed onto his face and body. He expressed relief at not having ingested any of the material.

The officer mentioned that he had to take time off work and harboured concerns about such an incident recurring in the future.

In mitigation, Ms Whebell stated that her client felt remorse for his actions, expressing deep regret. She noted that Pellow had spent "some time" in custodial settings and this was the only recorded incident of violence against him.

She added that Pellow was diagnosed with psychosis, ADHD, borderline personality disorder and was medicated for that. However, she noted that the antipsychotic medication he was on was removed from him for an unknown reason and he was given a substitute prescription of antidepressants that was not helping manage his difficulties.

She explained Pellow had turned to the illicit psychoactive substance "Spice" which was "readily available" in prison and was using prison "hooch". As a result, he fell into debt to people in prison supplying the banned items, who were of "far more violent tendencies".

She said when the "consequences of that debt was made clear to him" by these people, he accepted he had to do as he was asked. She said he recognised he could have requested assistance from the prison authorities and be moved to another wing, but that "they could get me wherever I went, so that's why I did what I did".

She said Pellow was put in segregation and then moved to HMP Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. He was granted parole in April 2023 and eventually released in August 2023, when an approved premises became available and began to reconnect with his partner.

By October 2023 she fell pregnant, but the court was told that another approved premises resident began to threaten his partner. He contacted the probation services to say that he did not feel it was right to return and he left the place, which left him in breach of his parole.

As a result, he was recalled to prison.

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Ms Whebell highlighted that Pellow had earned 17 certificates for his committed efforts while in custody, including completing anger management and family courses. His child was born in June, although he is currently entangled in ongoing family court proceedings.

She mentioned that family services have requested Pellow undertake additional courses as a part of his rehabilitation journey. Additionally, he is gearing up to undergo testing for Huntington's disease, a hereditary condition that has already affected members of his family.

Judge Davey KC, reviewing Pellow's record of 23 convictions spanning 51 offences, described his actions on the day in question as "utterly disgusting". In sentencing, the judge weighed both mitigating and aggravating factors, acknowledging Pellow's guilty plea and acceptance that he did not intend to harm or injure the prison officer.

Consequently, Judge Davey, KC, imposed a sentence of 12 months, effective immediately. He informed Pellow that he would serve half of this term, though it would ultimately have no impact on him since his release date was not until March 2025.

The judge clarified: "The law is that I cannot make this sentence to run consecutively - it has to run from today. In practice and in good luck on your part there will be no practical effect on your eventual date of release next year."