Her Majesty's Prison Full Sutton in Yorkshire, England
'Gay-Bashing' Murderer And Paedophile Get Married In Prison - But They Won't Be Allowed To Share A Cell
28 March 2015
A 'gay-bashing' murderer and a paedophile serving life sentences have tied the knot in Britain's first homosexual wedding in prison but will not be allowed to share a cell, jail bosses have said.
Mikhail Ivan Gallatinov, 40, who was jailed in 1997 for what a judge labelled a ‘callous, chilling killing’, married fellow prisoner Marc Goodwin, 31, yesterday, it has been reported.
Goodwin was the leader of a gang that roamed the streets of Blackpool looking for homosexuals to attack.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years in 2007 after being found guilty of murdering Malcolm Benfold, 57, who was beaten to death. His trial heard that he and two friends had agreed to go ‘gay bashing’.
Wed: Mikhail Ivan Gallatinov (right), 40, who was jailed in 1997 for what a judge labelled a ‘callous, chilling killing’, married fellow prisoner Marc Goodwin (left), 31, yesterday
According to reports, the 15-minute ceremony, during which the prisoners wore suits, was attended by four family members.
Mr Benfold's sister, Wendy Bridge, from Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside has previously spoken out against the wedding.
'I don’t object to a prisoner having a wedding, but when its two murderers getting married to each other, that’s wrong,' she told the Liverpool Echo.
'Marriage should be something to aim for when they get out, to build a home and a new life with someone,' she added.
It came at no cost to the public purse, a Prison Service spokesman said.
'We are very clear that if prisoners do get married, the taxpayer does not foot the bill for the ceremony and they are certainly not allowed to share a cell,' he added.
It is believed that the couple had considered a civil partnership until a change in the law in March last year made homosexual marriage legal in Britain.
Goodwin and Gallatinov – who strangled 28-year-old gay man Adrian Kaminsky – met while behind bars, according to the Daily Mirror.
Gallatinov, of Manchester, who previously served a prison sentence for sexually abusing children, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for the murder of Mr Kaminsky – meaning he could be eligible for parole in two years.
The convicted murderers wed at HMP Full Sutton, Yorkshire (pictured) and was the first gay wedding in a British prison
He spoke to his victim on a gay chat line before luring him to his home. At the time of his sentencing, Judge Rhys Davies QC said the murder was ‘a cold-blooded, well planned, callous, chilling and apparently motiveless killing’.
The case was particularly shocking because Gallatinov was under police surveillance at the time and had actually told an undercover detective that he intended to commit murder.
Officers were positioned outside his house at the time of the killing and he photographed his victim with a camera that he had been lent by detectives.
Mr Kaminsky’s body was later found nearly naked in the boot of Gallatinov’s car after he was stopped on a motorway.
Goodwin, originally of Airdrie, near Glasgow, is expected to serve at least another ten years behind bars.
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Perhaps the reprehensible acts of their pasts were in part motivated by a self-loathing hatred that was a reflection of the homophobia and intolerance that they may have experienced in trying to come to terms with the reality of their own hearts.
Nevertheless, if they have been able to find love in one another, then I pray that they might find happiness in the midsts of their sorrows. And as they pay for their crimes, may the redemptive power of love transform them and restore them so that when they do return to society they might be truly redeemed.
"Fear Eats the Soul"
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