Violent films in U.K prisons questioned

LONDON, July 3 (UPI) -- A British judge is examining whether showing a film featuring racially motivated violence in a juvenile prison contributed to the slaying of an Asian inmate.

The inquiry was called after the beating death of Asian teenager Zahid Mubarek in England's Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in March 2000, Sky News reported.

It followed a screening of the 1992 Australian film "Romper Stomper," which shows fights between neo-Nazis and Asians in Australia, and starred Russell Crowe.

The inquiry will attempt to determine whether prisoners' access to programs which "glorify or encourage violence" should be limited.

Robert Stewart was convicted of killing his cellmate Mubarek in his sleep by battering his head with a table leg.

Stewart, now 24, has denied that watching the film played any part of his attack.