Three murderers in group of inmates who injured officers in prison violence

Violence erupted at HMP Whitemoor, near March, on Thursday, March 30, 2017, as prison officers attempted to restrain an inmate who had refused to move to another part of the jail.

David Smith, 36, Marvis Smith, 33, and Robert Lainsbury, 25, tried to barge into the cell but failed and became violent.

Together with fellow inmates, Ruben Francis, 37, Kalil Robinson, 25, and Abdul Miah, 36, they threw snooker balls, tables and chairs at prison officers, with some suffering minor injuries.

The officers retreated and, after 15 minutes, the prisoners calmed down and started cleaning up the mess.

The men were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday (1 May) after all pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

David Smith was jailed for two-and-a-half years, to run consecutively with his life sentence for murder; Marvis Smith was jailed for 12 months, to run consecutively with his 38-year sentence for murder; Francis was jailed for two years, to run consecutively with a sentence for robbery, and Lainsbury was jailed for 18 months, to run consecutively with his 26-year sentence for murder.

Robinson was jailed for two years, to run consecutively with his 14-year sentence for aggravated burglary, and Miah, who was released from prison before the case was heard, was jailed for six weeks.

DC Shelly Reeve said: “With the level of violence these men showed, the prison officers made the right call in getting themselves out of the wing.

“The men had already proved they were dangerous when they were sent to a category A prison, where the most serious offenders are kept. As a result of their actions, they will be staying there a little while longer.”