A female prison officer at HMP Oakwood was violently attacked by inmate Carl Moses, who was under the influence of the synthetic drug spice, after she attempted to get him a new television, a court has heard.
Carl Moses, 53, who was already serving a lengthy sentence for robbery and violent crimes, assaulted the officer on January 17 last year at the Featherstone prison near Wolverhampton. The attack left her with cuts, bruises, and psychological trauma that ultimately forced her to resign from a job she found fulfilling.
Stafford Crown Court was informed that the officer first encountered Moses while prison staff organized inmates into new cells around 1 pm. Later that day, around 5:30 pm, Moses informed her that he did not have a television in his cell. When she returned at 6 pm, the officer noticed Moses talking to himself and observed white residue around his mouth, signs indicating he was likely intoxicated on spice.
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Concerned, the officer returned with a colleague to check on him. Despite knocking and calling to Moses, he was unresponsive and initially appeared to smirk at them through the observation panel. Suddenly, Moses lunged at the officers, grabbing the victim and swinging punches wildly. He commanded them to “shush” and to get down, even elbowing the victim in the head during the struggle.
The officer managed to press her personal alarm, but emergency backup was mistakenly sent to the wrong part of the prison, prolonging the struggle. Moses attempted to lift the victim by her thighs, but she resisted by placing her feet against the wall. Eventually, the officers subdued Moses and handcuffed him, after which he became compliant.
The victim sustained multiple injuries, including bruises on her collarbone and right eye, as well as deep cuts to her hands. In her victim impact statement, she revealed the lasting effects of the assault, such as flashbacks, mental health struggles, sleepless nights, and financial difficulties following her resignation, which impaired her ability to secure a mortgage.
Moses, who has 45 convictions for 119 offences, suffers from schizophrenia and psychosis. His defense counsel disclosed that Moses had used spice as a coping mechanism due to the absence of a television in his cell, which had been removed amid ownership disputes.
During sentencing, His Honour Judge Avik Mukherjee acknowledged Moses’s lengthy criminal history and mental health diagnoses but condemned the assault, noting the significant impact on the officer’s life and career. Moses had pleaded guilty to assault by beating of an emergency worker. Although the starting sentence was nine months, it was reduced to four months due to an early guilty plea and delays in proceedings.
Moses appeared via video link and was sentenced for his violent actions while incarcerated, highlighting the dangers of synthetic drugs like spice in prisons and their impact on both inmates and staff.