Where is HMP Frankland and who is held at the prison?
SOME of Britain's most infamous killers can be found behind the walls of HMP Frankland.
Operating for over 40 years, Frankland has the reputation as one of the toughest prisons in the country.
Where is HMP Frankland?
The prison, which opened in 1980, is located in the village of Brasside in County Durham.
It is around five miles from the centre of Durham, and roughly 14 miles and 16 miles from the cities of Sunderland and Newcastle respectively.
Frankland opened with only four wings with 108 cells in each but grew in 1998 when a further two wings were opened.
It now has eight wings and houses 850 men, according to the Government website.
The prison holds male prisoners aged over 21 and whose sentence is four years or more, serving life or who are deemed high-risk.
The rooms are single and have their own toilet and sink.
Facilities include a healthcare unit and management progression unit as well as a gym and access to a range of physical activities.
Prisoners are allowed to study full or part time and can take on practical work such as furniture production, cutting and sewing, and recycling.
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Offending behaviour programmes and interventions, aiming to alter attitudes and behaviours, are also available to the men.
One source said: “There are some heavy people in Frankland.
"Frankland has a horrific roster of murderers, gangsters and serial killers.”
Many have been targeted in vicious assaults during their time at Frankland.
In 2011, prisoner Mitchell Harrison, who was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl, was killed by his fellow inmates who were serving life sentences.
Who are the inmates at HMP Frankland?
Frankland can hold more than 800 inmates and many of its current and former prisoners may sound familiar.
Charles Bronson
Britain's most notorious prisoner, Charles Bronson, spent some time in Frankland prison in the early 90s.
Bronson has been regularly moved from prison to prison but his time at Durham stands out as he took the Deputy Governor hostage.
His violent behaviour and multiple escape attempts pushed Bronson's seven year jail sentence for armed robbery to a life sentence for kidnapping a prison teacher.
The notorious inmate currently resides at HMP Woodhill and will have a public parole hearing in 2022, with some reports claiming as early as June.
Peter Sutcliffe
Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women between 1975 and 1980.
He died on November 13, 2020, from a collapsed lung, having suffered from a heart attack and a coronavirus just weeks before.
Sutcliffe's time at Frankland was short, lasting from August 2016 until his death, as he had served most of his sentence in Broadmoor psychiatric hospital.
The Yorkshire Ripper was serving 20 concurrent life sentences at the time of his death and had been denied an appeal in 2010 meaning he would never be freed.
Harold Shipman
Nicknamed Dr Death, Harold Shipman was an English general practitioner (GP) who is estimated to have killed around 250 people.
He is the only British doctor to date who has been convicted of murdering his patients.
Shipman died by suicide in his prison cell at HMP Wakefield in 2004.
His youngest victim was a four-year-old girl, who was killed in the short time it took for her mother to make a cup of tea.
Colin Pitchfork
Colin Pitchfork was the first person convicted of rape and murder using DNA profiling.
He was convicted of murdering two girls in Leicestershire in the 1980s.
Pitchfork pled guilty to both murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment on January 22, 1988.
In 2021, Pitchfork was granted release on a conditional licence but was recalled to jail for breaching the conditions by approaching women when on walks.
John Straffen
One of the longest serving prisoner in British history, John Straffen, was incarcerated for 55 years before his death.
Straffen died at Frankland on November 19, 2007, at the age of 77, having served a total of 20,206 days in prison.
He escaped from Broadmoor on April 29, 1952, and sadly murdered a five-year-old girl before he was captured again.
His criminal career began with theft but escalated to murdering children by strangulation.
Levi Bellfield
Levi Bellfield, who murdered Milly Dowler, is serving a whole life order at Frankland.
This means Bellfield will serve his life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Bellfield was also found guilty of the murder of Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22, as well as the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18.
Milly, 13, went missing on March 21, 2002, but was not found until six months later, Bellfield was not charged until 2010.
Michael Stone
Double murderer Michael Stone is serving three life sentences for killing Lin, 45, and her daughter Megan Russell as well as the attempted murder of Josie Russell.
Stone has maintained his innocence and contests his conviction, with his legal team pointing to Levi Bellfield as a possible suspect.
As recently as February 2022, The Sun revealed that Bellfield had confessed to the brutal murders.
This would mean that Stone was wrongfully convicted and could result in his freedom.
Ian Huntley
Soham murderer Ian Huntley was convicted of killing Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2003.
The girls went missing from a barbeque and Huntley had aided in the search for the missing pair.
He was transferred to Frankland on January 23, 2008, after he was attacked by another prisoner at Wakefield.
He was attacked again two years later, this time sustaining non life-threatening injuries to his neck.
Michael Adebolajo
Michael Adebolajo might not be a familiar name but his victim Lee Rigby probably will be.
Rigby was returning to his barracks after working at the Tower of London in May 2013, when he was hit by a car and attacked with knives and a meat cleaver.
The gruesome killing earned Adebolajo a whole-life tariff, he later confessed and expressed regret for his actions.
In 2021, his accomplice Michael Adebowale was taken from Broadmoor to a hospital, suffering from Covid and needing oxygen.
Wayne Couzens
Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens earned his place at Frankland after he raped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard.
Sarah was walking home from a friend's house in 2021 when Couzens approached her, claiming she had breached Covid restrictions.
He pleaded guilty on June 8, 2021, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order in September of that year.
Couzens was back in the dock in April 2022 for four counts of indecent exposure from February 2021.
The case against Couzens triggered vigils and protests across the UK.
A particularly upsetting vigil in London saw the Met police acting heavy handed with the grieving women present, which the High Court ruled as a breach in the protestors' rights.