The Bird That Never Flew: The Uncompromised Autobiography of One of the Most Punished Prisoners in the History of the British Penal System

The Bird That Never Flew follows in the dangerous footsteps of a major figure in Glasgow underworld. It tells of how John and his older brother Jim became legends to rival the notorious James boys and why they became heroes in prison. Preceded there by the reputation of his safeblower father, Steele’s rebellious nature led him to defy a brutal system that prized the breaking of the human spirit above the breaking of old habits. Violence and deprivation were the principle weapons of the prison authorities: rehabilitation just another word in the dictionary. And so he rebelled, meeting violence with violence, leading riots and planning dramatic escapes.All his life, ‘Johnnyboy’ Steele has been running. First it was from an abusive father, then it was from the rigours of approved school and borstal and, finally, it was from the harshness of prison life. The book details how the brothers staged the most daring breakout that Glasgow’s Barlinnie Prison had ever seen and recounts what happens when their younger brother, Joseph, was falsely accused of the greatest mass murder in Scottish legal history.If Johnny had wings, he would have flown to help his family, but he would have to wait for freedom to use his expertise to publicise young Joe’s miscarriage of justice. The Bird That Never Flew is a compelling, often shocking and uncompromisingly honest account of how the human spirit can survive against almost crushing odds. It is a story of family love, friendship and, ultimately, a desire for justice.