A killer died behind bars on the day he found out his early release had been refused, a report into his death has revealed.
Terence Lockhart died in the palliative care suite at HMP Holme House in Stockton on July 14, 2022 - two months after being told his lung cancer was terminal. An independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman looking into the circumstances surrounding his death states that he was the eleventh prisoner to die at Holme House since July 2020.
Lockhart was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1988. He was moved to Holme House in December 2021, and in the same month was seen by a prison GP after reporting abdominal pain, vomiting and loss of appetite.
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Blood tests appeared abnormal and the GP arranged repeat blood tests the following week, which showed an improvement. On New Year's Eve 2021 Lockhart told a prison GP that he felt slightly better but could feel a lump in his abdomen.
A CT scan was carried out on February 8, 2022 and later that month Lockhart was told there were some masses on his liver and that further investigations were needed to provide a diagnosis.
But on April 14, following a number of investigations, Lockhart was informed that he had liver cancer, which was later diagnosed as terminal. A hospital doctor assessed that Lockhart had three months or less to live.
On June 10, the prison submitted an application for Lockhart's early release on compassionate grounds to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) of HM Prison and Probation Service. Prison and healthcare staff encouraged Lockhart to consider moving to a hospice.
Lockhart declined this as his preference was to be released to his brother's home on compassionate grounds. However, on 13 July, he agreed to move to a hospice. By the time the prison had authorised this later that day, he was too weak to be moved.
Lockhart's application for early release on compassionate grounds was refused on 13 July. He was notified of the decision on 14 July, the day of his death.
There was no post-mortem examination, however, a prison GP gave the cause of death asmetastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). The inquest into Lockhart's death concluded that he died from natural causes.
The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care the inmate received at Holme House was equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community. The clinical reviewer made no recommendations. They also found no non-clinical issues of concern and made no recommendations.
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