Prison officer ‘failed to notice’ sex offender dead on cell floor

A prison officer who ‘failed to notice’ a sex offender dead on the floor when unlocking his cell has been dismissed.

INMATE Stephen Maddock, 59, died at HMP Rye Hill G4S-operated Category B prison on the Northamptonshire and Warwickshire border on December 7.

He was convicted of sexual offences in 2015, and sentenced to 16 years.

A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) report read: “The investigation found that the officer who unlocked Mr Maddock’s cell on the morning of 7 December, failed to do a welfare check and therefore did not identify that Mr Maddock was dead on his cell floor. It took another half an hour before other prisoners alerted staff.

“Although this failure did not affect the outcome for Mr Maddock, as it appears he had
been dead for some time, it is essential that unlock procedures are carried out correctly
so that any welfare needs are identified and addressed as soon as possible.”

Maddock, who was clinically obese, was receiving medication diabetes and high blood pressure.

The PPO stated that “when unlocking a prisoner’s cell, the officer is supposed to get a response from the prisoner to satisfy themselves that they are alive and well”.

It recommended “that all staff understand what is expected of them when conducting roll checks and that all staff adhere to these expectations”.

Director at HMP Rye Hill, Peter Small said the prison board has “fully accepted the recommendations made by the PPO; staff conducting welfare checks do so with regular managerial supervision, and daily reports are issued to the deputy director.”

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Written by

Tara Rippin

Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region.
She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990.
Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.

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