Prison razor attack adds to thug's sentence

Published on Wednesday 27 August 2008 21:52

ONE of Scotland's most violent teenagers slashed a youth on the face and scarred him for life to send out a message that he was not going to be pushed around in prison, a court heard yesterday.

Darren Cornelius, 18, who is serving a life sentence after being branded a public danger, had been jostled and shoved by fellow inmates, and decided that he had to stand up to his tormentors. He obtained a razor blade, and used it to strike one of the bullies in the clear view of guards at Edinburgh Prison and under CCTV cameras.

"In his words, he wanted to let those doing this know he was not prepared to be a victim," the defence lawyer, Raymond McMenamin, told a judge.

Cornelius was given a sentence of three years and nine months for the attack, to begin at the end of a minimum term of five years he is serving under a lifelong restriction order.

The teenager, from Edinburgh, was only 11 when he repeatedly stabbed a girl of nine and left her for dead near the Fountain Park leisure complex in the city. He was sent by a Children's Hearing to secure accommodation.

In March last year, Cornelius carried out a random attack on a stranger in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, by punching and stabbing the man, who was left permanently disfigured. It was while he was on remand for that offence that Cornelius slashed Ryan Gandy, 18, another remand prisoner, and caused a 3in-long wound to his right cheek, running from ear to mouth.

Subsequently, Cornelius was sentenced for the street stabbing, and became the youngest person in Scotland to be given a lifelong restriction order.

Yesterday, Cornelius appeared before Lord Brodie at the High Court in Edinburgh to be sentenced for the prison slashing.

He had walked up behind Gandy as he played table tennis in the communal area of the jail's Glenesk Wing, and struck him without warning. He walked away calmly, towards the showers.

Mr McMenamin said: "He states his motivation for carrying out the assault was that he had been subjected to remarks and bullying behaviour by other inmates. This was not an isolated incident."