"Very dangerous" Blackpool sex offender died of cancer in Leyland prison before early release
A “very dangerous” sex offender who exploited a primary school-aged girl has died of cancer in prison.
Michael Kinnear, of Fairfield Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to inciting a youngster to be involved in pornography worldwide, and was jailed in 2015 for nine years.
During the court case, the judge heard how a “lengthy graphic” messenger conversation was retrieved by police in which Kinnear asked his girlfriend if she would prefer to sexually assault and kill the little girl or someone’s newborn daughter.
During his jail time, Kinnear was moved to HMP Wymott near Leyland in April 2021, and it was there that he became ill with kidney cancer, and died in a hospice while still a prisoner, on May 11, 2023, aged 54. A review into his death was carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), and a report was released on November 1.
What happened?
On January 3, 2023, a nurse and a GP saw Kinnear as he had stomach pain, a loss of appetite, vomiting and constipation. Blood tests showed abnormal results requiring urgent hospital admittion, but he refused treatment several times. He did go to hospital twice, discharging himself on both occasions, and was put on monitoring for self harm (ACCT) for a short time.
On February 8 Kinnear was told he had terminal kidney cancer that had spread to his liver and adrenal glands. On March 2, an oncologist advised that his prognosis would likely be three months without treatment, or 12 months with treatment. Kinnear agreed to start treatment and was prescribed medication to help treat his cancer.
On March 22, staff started ACCT monitoring again as Kinnear was refusing to attend hospital for treatment and on March 24 he said he did not want anyone to resuscitate him if his heart or breathing stopped and signed an order to that effect.
Early release application
On March 29, staff submitted an application for Kinnear’s early release - known as a ERCG - on compassionate grounds to the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) of the Prison Service. PPCS asked for a report from Kinnear’s oncologist, but this was still outstanding when he died.
On April 8, an officer found Mr Kinnear on the floor in his cell. He was taken by ambulance to hospital and seen by a palliative care team. On April 24 he was moved to St Catherine’s Hospice in Lostock Hall for palliative care. He had told staff that he wanted to return to Wymott, however, they were unable to meet his 24-hour care needs. He died in hospice on May 11, 2023.
Findings
The PPO report states: “Mr Kinnear’s oncologist gave him his prognosis on 2 March. We consider that the prison should have asked for a report at that stage, with a view to submitting the ERCG application as soon as possible. The fact that they did not, unnecessarily delayed the ERCG process.
“We recommend: The Governor and Head of Healthcare should ensure that Healthcare provide the correct consultant report immediately after prognosis and the Governor ensures that this is sent off with the ERCG application.”
The report highlights good practice at Wymott, including the fact that after his terminal diagnosis, Kinnear was no longer cuffed or restrained when attending hospital or on an escort .
23 deaths
Kinnear was the 23rd prisoner to die at Wymott since May 2020. Of the previous deaths, 20 were from natural causes, one was self-inflicted, and one was drug related.