A man wrongfully convicted of murder has told of the moment infamous prisoner Charles Bronson defended him from guards in prison.

Michael O'Brien was one of three men, known as the Cardiff Newsagent Three, who were wrongly accused of killing newsagent Phillip Saunders with a shovel in the backyard of his Cardiff home in 1987.

Charles Bronson is a notorious British criminal who has spent most of his adult life in prison for offenses related to violence and hostage-taking. 

Dunfermline Press:

Speaking on the latest Talking True Crime podcast, Mr O'Brien said: "I met Charlie Bronson and I wrote about him in my book, The Death of Justice.

"Charlie spoke up for me. One of the prison officers was trying to bully me, and he went in and he said 'you touch him, you call me to deal with'.

"I was only a little skinny thing. I was only about eight stone and Charlie was this big lump. 

"They went, 'no, you're all right Charlie'.

"I thanked him for that because he did stick up for me. He was a con's con."

The conviction of the Cardiff Newsagent Three in 1988 was rooted in a confession from a man named Darren Hall, who claimed they served as a lookout during a disastrous robbery.

Michael O'Brien, Darren Hall, and Ellis Sherwood served 11 years in prison before being released in 1999 after Hall's confession was retracted, and a court of appeal quashed the conviction citing his antisocial personality disorder at the time.

Charles Bronson has been dubbed the "most violent prisoner in Britain" and gained notoriety for his extreme behavior while in custody.

Speaking about Mr Bronson's reputation, Mr O'Brein said: "There are loads of myths in the paper about him being the most dangerous person.

"I know he's done some crazy things, but he is not a murderer and he gets treated worse than a sex offender. And I find that really, really offensive when you consider that never killed anyone

"Yes, he's done things. He's taken people hostage, but you don't know the story behind it. 

"The people in prison know the story, he took the hostage and asked for a helicopter and an ice cream. Can you really take that seriously?"

Talking True Crime is a new podcast from the True Crime Newsquest Team and features conversations with reporters, journalists, experts, law enforcement, and others to discuss some of Britain's biggest cases, crimes, the justice system, and more.