At Swaleside Prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, Michael Stewart, and Nathan Odgers were sentenced for locking Anthony Smith in a cell and repeatedly beating him with tuna-filled socks.
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Two prisoners were sentenced for kidnapping a baby batterer and assaulting him with tuna tin-filled socks during a two-hour ordeal.
After tying Anthony Smith to his cell bed at Swaleside Prison on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, Michael Stewart, and Nathan Odgers hit him repeatedly with their homemade weapons.
They also threatened to 'cut off his legs,' referring to the horrific injuries Smith inflicted on his son Tony Hudgell when he was just six weeks old, requiring him to amputate both legs.
According to evidence presented at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent, Stewart and Odgers were originally uninformed of their captive's name and heinous conduct.
On August 7, 2018, the two men pushed Smith, then 47, into his single cell and told him to participate in their hostage plan, which was staged in protest of being held at the notorious category B jail known as 'Stabside.'
When fellow convicts yelled out who he was and why he was in jail, it became violent.
Stewart and Odgers, both victims of physical child abuse and neglect, started their vicious assault, leaving the tins "heavily dented" and Smith in need of medical care for several tooth fractures and bruises.
Six months prior, he and his girlfriend Jody Simpson were sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty in the same court of inflicting several limb fractures on their infant son, resulting in multi-organ failure and sepsis.
Because of his horrible injuries, which included a hip dislocation and brain trauma, the boy had to have both legs amputated at the knee.
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Stewart, 31, and Odgers, 36, were guilty of false imprisonment and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Stewart, who has no fixed location but is connected to Bedford, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. A former Hastings resident, Odgers was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
They were charged with inflicting grievous bodily injury with intent initially. Still, the court was informed that there was a question over how badly Smith's teeth were destroyed before the attack due to a previous unconnected jail assault.
Prosecutor Jane Carpenter said Stewart and Odgers pounced on Smith just before 4.45 p.m. on August 7, 2018, slamming him from behind and head-first onto his bunk as he returned to his cell after receiving his supper.
She went on to say that he didn't know the pair or had any issues with them and that they'd been put in the same wing to await transfer to other prisons.
With the cell door locked automatically behind them, they held Smith down and used strips of his bedding to restrain him, telling him, 'do what we tell you to do, and you'll be alright.
"They then pulled out socks weighted with full tins of tuna and began to hit Mr Smith over the head and body," said Ms Carpenter.
"They were encouraging each other, saying 'hit him harder, he deserves it' and 'cut his ear off'."
As officers tried to get into the cell and a governor and a negotiation team were called, they continued to hit and kick their hostage, the court heard.
Some of the attacks were captured on guards' bodyworn camera and sounds of violence and laughter, said Ms. Carpenter.
"They discussed Mr. Smith's offense and said he should have his legs chopped off," she told the court.
"One said 'I should chop this guy to pieces. He deserves that at the very least."
At one point Smith complained he was being strangled, only for his captors to dismiss it as 'play-fighting', the court heard.
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Just before 7 p.m., officers in riot gear pushed their way inside the cell, and the guys peacefully surrendered. Smith remained tied to his bed.
"His face was extremely swollen and bruised. He was taken to hospital and found to have multiple dental fractures, bruising, and tenderness to his eye socket and spine," said the prosecutor.
"He had 12 tooth extractions, four fillings, and was fitted with dentures to his upper teeth."
Smith claimed to have also been threatened with a blade, but no such weapon was found.
He denied being part of the planned hostage-taking and said he had been left 'in a great state of anxiety and fearful for the future.
Neither Stewart nor Odgers was prosecuted for the incident until March of last year, even though Stewart had spent most of his adult life in prison and has 72 previous offenses on his record, including wounding, robbery, and violence.
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Odgers, a father of four with 45 prior convictions, was serving a 10-and-a-half-year term for aggravated burglary and handgun possession at the time.
Stewart's lawyer, Sarah McIntyre, said Smith was originally "complicit" in the kidnapping.
Explaining how the violence erupted, however, she told the court: "Mr. Stewart says he didn't know who the prisoner was and that others shouted to them who he was and that he had caused a child to have his legs amputated, hence the reference to having his legs chopped off."
"Anthony Smith was effective 'in on this, it was an agreement between them with the intention of Mr. Odgers to be moved to another prison," he told the court.
"There was no intention to use violence until he became aware of the nature of Mr. Smith's previous offence, communicated to them by other prisoners standing outside the cell."
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Judge Jeremy Donne QC remarked there was a degree of public interest in this case, bearing in mind who the victim was', and that Stewart and Odgers had both been 'prejudiced by the extraordinary 19-month delay' in charging and bringing the case to court.
Passing the sentence, he accepted their motivation for the attack was a prison move and said had it been one of 'retribution or vigilantism' he doubted there would have been the delay in using violence.
Smith may potentially be eligible for compensation after being the victim of an attack in prison, as the prison system must keep inmates secure at all times.
The child tormentor is entitled to compensation for his physical injuries and any mental stress or trauma he has experienced.
Paula Hudgell, the adoptive mother of Smith's now seven-year-old son, Tony, has criticized the potential taxpayer-funded settlement.
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Tony earned the title of pandemic lockdown hero after raising more than £1.6 million for the hospital that saved his life and continues to treat him.
Paula, 53, who lives in West Malling, Kent, said she was 'horrified' that her son's abuser could financially benefit from his injuries.
"I cannot condone this violence in any way, but it clearly demonstrates the disgust felt by society - and even by hardened criminals - as to what Smith did to a defenseless, newborn baby," she said.
"He and his girlfriend left Tony at death's door and with injuries so bad that his life is affected forever.
"So it's horrifying to think Smith could now be compensated for a few bruises and broken teeth.
"Perhaps if he is truly sorry for what he did, he will hand over any money he receives to charity."
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Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Tony's Law, which introduces heavier jail sentences for people convicted of child cruelty offenses, received Royal Assent last week.
Smith and Simpson, who were convicted of inflicting or enabling severe physical damage to a child and child abuse in February 2018, are set to be released in August of this year.