A prisoner left a heart-breaking note saying he couldn’t live without his wife before being found dead in his cell.
Retired civil servant William Campbell Bissett, known as Bill, was found dead in his cell at Wymott Prison on October 13 in 2023. The 88-year-old had been jailed for six and-a-half years in 2020 after being found guilty of sexually abusing five young boys when he volunteered as a Boys Brigade leader at the Church Street Methodist Church group in St Anne’s.
Described as “polite and courteous” during his three years in prison, having made friends among fellow prisoners and being respected by prison staff, Bill was due to be released on the day he was found dead. He had always maintained his innocence but had been refused the right to appeal his conviction.
However, just weeks before his release, Bill was informed that he would not be able to return to the home he had shared with his wife Monica in Lytham for 41 years – because the property was within an exclusion zone set up to prevent Bill from inadvertently bumping into any of his victims.
Bill had been told that, on his release, he should report to housing officers at Fylde Council in order to obtain emergency, temporary accommodation in a hotel. He was informed that he would be put up in a Travelodge in either Preston or Chorley.
The exclusion zone was part of Bill’s licence conditions midway through his sentence as his six and-a-half year jail term was due to run until July 2027. For Bill, this would mean potentially spending the rest of his life living apart from his wife, and he would be banned from visiting Lytham or Blackpool.
The night before he was due to be released, on Thursday October 12 in 2023, Bill spoke to his wife Monica on the phone and asked her to bring some clothes with her to the prison the following day. However, at 5.10am on the morning of his release, Bill was found hanging in his cell.
An example of a prison cell at HMP Wymott
An inquest, which started today (Monday January 13) at County Hall in Preston, heard that Bill had left letters addressed to his wife Monica and their daughter Eileen. They described how he felt “in limbo” and like he had no choice but to end his own life.
In the letter to Monica, Bill wrote: “Please, please, please forgive my action. At 88 years of age the Probation Service expect me to live in an environment miles away from you, my wife of 56 years of marriage, and from our own home.
“My age and health issues are not considered despite attention being drawn to them constantly. At my age I have the prospect of only a few more years of life and to be expected to spend it entirely separate from my family.
“This is a clear example of inhumane action and a breach of my human rights. I am not prepared to be forced to spend the rest of my, obviously at 88, short life without us being together. I can’t bear the thought of not having you beside me.”
The inquest also heard that Bill had several health conditions including being born with a congenital hip condition which meant he lived in hospital, away from his parents, for two years until the age of five. He had a blue badge and also suffered from extensive hearing loss, cataracts and high blood pressure.
Bill and Monica had met in Glasgow when they were both youngsters. The couple married in 1967 and moved to Lytham, when Bill was moved to the bonds and stocks branch of the Department of National Savings, in 1969.
Bill also worked as a master butcher and was an accomplished bagpipes player. In 2015 he achieved his lifelong ambition of performing at the Menin Gate First World War memorial in Ypres in Belgium which he later described as the most humbling experience” of his life. The inquest, which is due to last eight days, continues
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