A paedophile who sexually abused six children in the "most appalling depravity" died less than a year into his sentence.
Amos Matthews, from Widnes but previously living on a caravan park at Kinmel Bay in North Wales, was jailed back in May 2021 for 21 years for sexually abusing children. The 82-year-old started abusing children in his mid 50s and only stopped a couple of years previously, a court heard.
He faced 19 charges, including rape and sexual assault, and was sentenced for more than two decades when he appeared before Mold Crown Court. A report released into his death found he did not get a lesser level of care than would be expected outside prison, reports North Wales Live.
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Matthews was a prisoner at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham and a report from the Prisoners and Probation Ombudsman said the clinical care the 82-year-old received for his bladder cancer was equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.
Two months before he was locked up, Matthews found out that a CT scan showed he had a tumour in his bladder which likely spread to his pelvis. He had surgery in August to remove the tumour followed by palliative radiotherapy when he was deemed unsuitable for further surgeries.
The news was sent to Matthews via a hospital letter in October 2021 confirming the cancer had spread to the bones of his pelvis and was now deemed incurable. He never returned to prison after being admitted to hospital, the report adds.
The investigation found that, while in hospital, Matthews tested positive for Covid-19, with the report adding it wasn't clear whether he caught the virus in hospital or in prison. There were concerns raised, however, that formal paperwork for Matthews to be allowed to see his family on approved compassionate release did not begin until he had already died.
The prison were made aware of Matthews' prognosis in early December 2021 but it is thought staff did not start an application for compassionate release. Prisoners who are seriously ill, usually with a life expectancy of less than three months, can permanently be released from custody before their sentence has expired, the report highlights.
It was said in the conclusion that: "The Governor should ensure that staff understand the process for compassionate release and that applications are progressed in a timely manner and submitted as promptly as possible."
Ultimately, the coroner accepted the cause of death provided by the hospital doctor and no post-mortem examination was carried out. The doctor gave Mr Matthews’ cause of death as bladder cancer that had spread to the bones.
Matthews has become the sixth prisoner to die at Berwyn since March 2020, the report mentioned. Of the previous deaths, four were from natural causes and one was self-inflicted.
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