VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: Nancy Roberge-Renaud
10 Most Dangerous Inmates in the World
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re examining 10 of the Most Dangerous Inmates in the World.
For this list, we’ll be looking at some less-than-savory, still-living criminals that you wouldn’t want as cellmates.
Which of these criminals is the most disturbing? Let us know in the comments.
Jason Barnum
Jason Barnum became known as “Eyeball,” and it’s not hard to see why. Barnum’s right eye is tattooed black and he has an eyeball tattooed on his forehead. A serial burglar, Barnum was found hiding in a hotel in 2012 and opened fire on two police officers, wounding one. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2015. His charges included attempted murder as well as car theft and burglary. He claimed to have been doing so to fund his addiction to illicit substances. If nothing else, the “Eyeball” definitely has a distinctive look.
Joseph James DeAngelo
Most recognized as the “Golden State Killer,” Joseph James DeAngelo is the perpetrator of an alarming amount of crimes. In fact, “Golden State” was the ninth pseudonym awarded him by the media. Between 1974 and 1986, DeAngelo murdered 13 people, assaulted over 50 women and committed around 120 burglaries. After 1986, the case went cold and remained so for some time, until genetic genealogy and incriminating DNA evidence led to DeAngelo’s 2018 arrest at the age of 72. He was eventually charged with 13 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of kidnapping, all to which he pled guilty. DeAngelo was a police officer for a brief period in the 1970s, which is all the more disturbing. He is currently serving life without parole.
Surinder Koli
Between 2005 and 2006, the city of Noida, India was subject to missing children cases which were greatly overlooked by local authorities, despite mounting pressure from parents. In 2006, Noida businessman Moninder Singh Pandher and his servant Surinder Koli were arrested on charges of murdering a sex worker. Upon digging for those remains, investigators found numerous younger remains as well. Koli confessed to multiple murders among other heinous actions. There were over 19 victims. Koli was sentenced to death on 13 counts of murder: a sentence which is still pending. It was determined by courts that Pandher wasn’t involved in the murders, but he did get seven years in prison for soliciting sex workers.
Joanna Dennehy
In 2013, Joanna Dennehy stabbed three men to death in Cambridgeshire, England and stabbed two more elsewhere who survived. The three murder victims were known to Dennehy, while the surviving two were completely random men walking their dogs. All were premeditated attacks, and Dennehy had allegedly planned to commit nine murders in total. While in custody, authorities found an “escape plan” Dennehy had written down which involved cutting the finger off a wounded or murdered guard to open biometric scans on doors. She also made death threats to other prisoners, causing transfers.
Charles Cullen
Medical professional serial killers are often referred to as angels of death or mercy. It’s an odd nickname, as they’re far from angels. In 1986, Charles Cullen graduated from nursing school. He worked at a number of New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals in his sixteen years as a nurse, during which he administered lethal doses of various substances into multiple patients. He was finally arrested in 2003, and it was determined that he had officially killed 29 patients, and possibly caused hundreds more deaths or complications. He was sentenced to 18 consecutive life sentences without parole. One of the reasons he gave for his actions was the easing of patients’ pain, but it was determined by one coworker that not all his victims were terminal.
Robert Maudsley
British serial killer Robert Maudsley was charged with three counts of murder and one of manslaughter committed between 1974 and 1978. All four of his victims were alleged or incarcerated offenders themselves; his first victim was a man who solicited Maudsley, his second was a fellow patient at the Broadmoor psychiatric hospital and his last two were fellow inmates at Wakefield Prison. Maudsley claimed the only individuals who should fear him are sex offenders. In 1983, it was determined that Maudsley could not reside with the general prison population and he was transferred to solitary confinement, in which he has been since. He attempted to appeal for some form of in-prison freedom in 2000, but was refused.
David Berkowitz
Known as the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz’s crime spree started in 1975 when he stabbed two women in the Bronx in New York. Between then and 1977, Berkowitz killed a total of six people and wounded 11, during which time he sent ominous letters to the NYPD and a Daily News journalist. He referred to himself as the Son of Sam in the first letter. He’s known for terrorizing the New York City area in the late ‘70s, as he eluded police despite his multiple attacks before finally being caught in 1977. He pled guilty, and was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. While he’s since become an evangelical Christian, it doesn’t undo what he’s done.
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán
Former drug lord and Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán had been involved in cartels since the 1970s. After multiple captures and escapes, he was extradited to the US in 2017 to serve out his sentence, eventually arriving at a supermax prison in Colorado. Known as “El Chapo,” Guzmán’s rap sheet is too long to list here, but it mostly contains drug trafficking, violence and the use of hitmen to carry out hundreds of nefarious acts, money laundering, collusion with corrupt government officials, and so on. He escaped in 2001, leading to a 13-year manhunt, only to escape again in 2015 and be recaptured in 2016. He was sentenced to life 30+ years.
Charles Bronson
No, not that Charles Bronson. This one is known for being a violent prisoner more than anything else. Michael Gordon Peterson was given the stage name of Charles Bronson (after the American actor) by a promoter during the criminal’s short-lived bare-knuckle boxing career in 1987. Bronson had been getting into trouble since his adolescence, joining a group of robbers at 13 years old. He was arrested several times, for anything from crashing a stolen truck to burglary to armed robbery. As of 1993, Bronson has remained in custody due to crimes within the prison system. He was transferred a number of times for violence against fellow inmates and prison guards.
Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader is perhaps better known as the BTK Killer. In the 17-year period between 1974 and 1991, Rader killed 10 people, consisting of four members of a family and six women. Much like the Son of Sam, Rader sent letters and poems to police and media. After his final murder in 1991, the BTK case went cold. It remained so until Dennis Rader resumed communication with media outlets in 2004. He even sent some packages, some of which contained bound dolls. Following these, some clever sleuthing led to his arrest in 2005. He is currently serving ten consecutive life sentences.
