Freed Newcastle prisoner Danny Weatherson back behind bars after attacking female prison officer
Danny Weatherson, of Scotswood, who served around 16 years of an indeterminate sentence for public protection, is now in HMP Frankland
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLivePrisoner Danny Weatherson is back behind bars for attacking a female prison officer weeks before he was freed from a 16 year stint in prison.
Weatherson was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP) in 2007 with a minimum term of 18 months but he was only deemed safe for release by the Parole Board in September last year. However it has now emerged that he had assaulted a female prison officer at HMP Northumberland in July last year, leaving her with a sprained neck and needing six months off work with PTSD.
Now Weatherson, 36, from Scotswood, Newcastle, who has been recalled to prison on his IPP and appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on a video link from HMP Frankland, has been given another prison sentence.
The court heard the victim was attached to Block A at HMP Northumberland, where Weatherson was being held and had been for several years. Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said: "He had made a number of accusations and insinuations about the number of holidays she had taken, insinuating she was corrupt and undermining her authority. When she confronted him about this, he denied it."
One day in July last year, medication for prisoners had been delayed and Weatherson's response to that had been to cut his leg in an act of self-harm, at the start of the staff lunch period. That sparked a "code red" alert, with an ambulance attending and it had a wider impact on other prisoners and staff.
While dealing with him and providing dressings, the victim commented that "it was only done when it impacted most on the staff and didn't appear to happen on his own time", Miss Haugstad said.
She added: "Later that day he self-harmed a second time during his association time - she thought to prove a point in response to what was said about it only happening on their time and not his. He said 'you can't tell me when to cut up'."
Weatherson was told he would be losing privileges and he began to remonstrate with two other officers. He was ordered to return to his cell but refused.
He was restrained and taken to the floor. His left leg became free and went over the female prison officer's shoulder, getting her in a headlock with his leg.
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The victim suffered stiffness in her neck which got worse later in the day and she ended up needing hospital treatment for a sprained neck. Miss Haugstad said the victim was left fearing seeing him "because he is a tall, big man and she's a petite female" and she felt targeted by him.
The prison officer added in a victim impact statement: "As a result of the injury and PTSD I was off work for a period of six months. While the injury has healed I needed therapy to get back to work.
"I felt like I was losing my mind, I was a different person. I was constantly thinking about the assault.
"I was not informed he would be released in September 2023 and only found out when I saw him on the evening news like he was a celebrity.
"When I saw the article no-one knew what he had done to me and I couldn't comment." She added that she gave up her football season ticket because she knew Weatherson had said he couldn't wait to go to the match when he got out.
Not long after she returned to work, Weatherson was arrested and ended up back in prison and she was left worried about seeing him and "living in fear" of him returning to her prison.
The court heard Weatherson, who appeared in court under his full name, Daniel, has 54 previous convictions, including for wounding in 1999, assault in 2005 and robbery, for which he got the IPP in 2007. He was also convicted of criminal damage in 2017 and assault in 2020, when he was given an eight week prison sentence.
In relation to the latest offence, he pleaded guilty to common assault of an emergency worker and was jailed for 24 weeks. However, given the IPP, he will only be released when the Parole Board decide it is safe to do so.
Cainan Lonsdale, defending, said Weatherson had spent the vast majority of his life in prison since 2007, save for a few days last September. He added: "This offence pre-dates the date he was licenced then recalled. It's likely the Parole Board drew upon it when they made their decision on the last occasion."
Mr Lonsdale said Weatherson was known to self-harm and was a suicide risk. He added: "He maintains it was his intention to remove (the victim) from the restraint because he had a grievance with her and didn't want her involved with the restraint on the floor.
"He says it was not his intention to target her."
Mr Lonsdale said Weatherson had had a troubled life and said a man tried to kidnap him when he was four and he was stabbed when he was 10. He said he has PTSD and personality disorders as well as anxiety and depression. He has also recently been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease, the court heard.
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