Shropshire prison inmate called ‘snitch’ before vicious attack, court told
Two prisoners at Shropshire's Stoke Heath Prison kicked and punched a fellow inmate leaving him with a collapsed lung, a court heard.
Steven Fletcher, 22, and Paul Woods, 28, are accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mitchell Downes – because they thought he wanted to be moved to a different wing at the prison, near Market Drayton.
The trial heard the pair “rained down” between 20 to 30 blows each on his head, face and body during the incident on April 4 last year, accusing him of being a “snitch”.
Prosecuting barrister Mr David Jackson told the jury: “It is the prosecution’s case it was these two men who inflicted grievous bodily harm on Mitchell Downes. He ended up in hospital with a collapsed lung. That he was injured is not in dispute.
“He was about to be released in August 2017. He had got himself involved in some wrongdoing in prison.
He said Mr Downes was asked to look after a mobile phone on behalf of an individual and the drug mamba.
“In return, he was allowed to use the phone and some of the drugs," he said.
“It had got to the point when he decided he wanted to end the arrangement.
“He arranged to see an officer. It became quite clear the inmates had caught wind of what he was doing. When he returned to the wing the atmosphere had changed.
“He decided once he had seen the officer and was back in the cell, to barricade the inside of the door.”
Giving evidence, Mr Downes told the jury an officer had unlocked the door and minutes later the pair forced it ajar and attacked him.
Woods, from Liverpool, and Fletcher, from Lancashire, both deny the allegations. The trial continues.
