The extraordinary story of a violent criminal turned lawyer came to an inspiring conclusion earlier this month when Charles Richardson was called to the Bar of England and Wales.

Mr. Richardson was given a 15 year jail sentence in 1995 for his part in the infamous Spinning Wheel nightclub shooting.

He was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Ian Jason Simmons, but was convicted on four charges of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding, using a firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon.

And despite what he claims were a multitude of obstacles erected within the prison system which hindered his attempts at self-advancement, he fought his way up from a nadir of bitterness, despair and introspection and has finally earned the right to be called a barrister.

Mr. Richardson, who was released in 2002 and now works at the chambers of Juris Law, hopes to be called to the Bermuda Bar some time in the New Year.

He is, however, keenly aware that some within the legal fraternity might object to an ex-convict practising law in Bermuda and is imploring the sceptics to grant him an opportunity to prove them wrong.

"There may be people out there who believe that, because I was formerly incarcerated, it would be unsuitable for me to practice law," he said.

"But anybody who has any objections has got to have another reason other than me having been in prison. When I committed that crime I was an impressionable young man who got in with the wrong people and made some poor decisions. But I've served my punishment and turned my life around. I am a son of the soil. I love this country and am very keen to serve it. I believe that despite my past, I now have a role to play."

Speaking to yesterday, Bermuda Bar Association president David Kessaram said the council was aware an application by Mr. Richardson was about to be made, although he confirmed that no official stance on the issue had yet been formulated.

The decision, he said, will ultimately rest with the Supreme Court.

"If the Supreme Court approaches us and requests our position then we will offer it," he said.

"But I am not prepared to speculate at this stage on what that position might be."

The progress Mr. Richardson has made since "those dark days" in 1995 is remarkable when you consider he entered Westgate with only a secondary school diploma from the Department of Education to his name, having been expelled from Warwick Academy as a young man for a whole host of indiscretions.

Given the violent nature of his crime, Mr. Richardson was kept in solitary confinement for the first year of his prison term ? armed only with a dictionary and the autobiography of Malcolm X.

"At that stage I did not have a particularly broad vocabulary, so the dictionary was definitely well used," he joked.

"But it was then that I made a determined choice to modify my behaviour and my attitude in a far reaching and radical way. I no longer wanted to be a 21st Century outlaw. There were periods when I felt I wanted to give up, that what I was doing was futile, but through my own sheer desire, the support of my family and a number of other individuals, I managed to stay the course. I owe them my life."

Mr. Richardson completed his A-Level law examination in 1997 and was awarded a degree from the University of London in 2003.

He accomplished both by correspondence while still a prisoner at Westgate, despite the fact he was never allowed more than three books in his cell at one time ? allegedly because of "security considerations".

Upon release in 2002, Mr. Richardson launched a scathing attack on the corrections process in Bermuda ? a process he still believes is failing in its duty to effectively rehabilitate criminal offenders.

"There were improvements in the rehab programme during my seven and a half years at Westgate," he said

"But in the main the systems they had in place had no more than a cosmetic, superficial benefit and absolutely no substance. Most of the qualifications on offer would not make a future resume look any more attractive. But the thing I resented most of all was the perception that I was unworthy of being treated with equality and respect simply because of my temporary legal status ? as if I was somehow beyond redemption.

"It almost seemed as if the laws of evolution had played a cruel trick on me and that I was no longer a complete human being because I was incarcerated. I set out to prove these things wrong. And now I have."

Mr. Richardson argued there are many individuals in the prison system with the same potential for "salvation" and said he hoped his own story could be an example for other "misguided young kids" to follow.

"Our prisons and our street corners are littered with people who could do things which are just as venerable as what I have done," he said.

"If you look in those places you will find doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. They are all there just waiting to be found and encouraged and mentored just like others did for me. The best advice I can give to anyone who has been told that it can't be done, is to put that goal in your sights, pursue it, and never, never, never, never give up."