He was arrested and imprisoned again on 12 May 1976, for the hijacking a bus. On 14 September 1976 he was sentenced to three years, and returned to the same prison, which was renamed the Maze. He became the first republican prisoner convicted since the withdrawal of Special Category Status for those convicted through juryless courts, due to the British policy of 'criminalisation', reintroduced that March. Among other things, this change in policy meant convicted paramilitaries could no longer wear their own clothes. He refused to wear the uniform, declaring himself a political prisoner and not a criminal, beginning the blanket protest.