Man Who Slashed Inmate In Prison Jailed For Life, Branded An 'Extreme Danger'

A 26-year-old British man has been given a life sentence after slashing a fellow inmate at a prison in Birmingham, England, in an unprovoked attack.

Judge Richard Bond said the decision was due to the "extreme danger" Kerney Grantham, of no fixed address, posed to members of the public, Birmingham Mail reported. He must remain in jail for a minimum of 32 years before being considered for release.

Grantham, who admitted to wounding with intent, had a "fascination" with knives and guns and a desire to poison others and took pleasure in inflicting physical and emotional pain on others, prosecutors said.

Grantham knifed the unidentified victim while the other man was carrying food back to his cell in HM Prison Birmingham on Nov. 15, 2020.

"[The victim] had only gone a few steps when he felt a sudden pain to the left side of his neck," prosecutor Omar Majid said. "He checked with his hand and saw it was covered with blood."

Another prisoner reportedly saw Grantham slash the victim from behind and then calmly walk away. Grantham and the victim had no issues between them, and the attack was "entirely unprovoked," according to Majid.

The victim suffered a wound nearly four inches long and was immediately treated at the prison.

When asked about the incident, Grantham asked if the man he knifed had died. When told that the victim survived, he said: "He should have."

Grantham said that he put the blade he had used down the toilet and that he got a high from committing the offense.

Majid said Grantham chose the victim because he was small and did not know him. Grantham had also said that “voices” had told him to carry out the attack and that he had intended to kill the victim, the prosecutor said.

Grantham has a list of convictions dating back to 2015. He previously attacked another prisoner with a pool ball and stabbed another during an art class. He also previously stabbed another inmate and a prison officer using a crude weapon he had fashioned himself.

Grantham also said that he tried to kill his mother with sleeping pills and went into her bedroom with a knife in hand.

In 2014, he was arrested for shooting dogs in Norwich, the BBC reported. He admitted to three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and one count each of possession of an air rifle and a hunting knife.

At the time of the most recent attack, Grantham was serving an eight-year sentence.