A convicted murderer who once went on the run from prison died before being granted compassionate leave.
George MacKay – also known as McKay – had hoped to spend his final days as a free man after being given six months to live in February 2021 but died in hospital days after the application for compassion leave was fast-tracked.
A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into his death detailed that the 69-year-old was given a life sentence at Glasgow’s High Court in 1975 for stabbing a man to death in Castlemilk.
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Mr MacKay made repeated attempts to escape custody throughout his sentence but was caught by police each time.
In April 1993, he absconded while on escorted leave in Edinburgh city centre.
Two months later, McKay was recaptured by police, having made his way back to Glasgow. He was then moved to HMP Castle Huntly in February 2007
Three months into his stay at Castle Huntly, he failed to return to the Longforgan jail after being given permission for a home visit.
Police launched an appeal to trace the killer, revealing he had known links to Glasgow, Manchester, Sussex, and London.
After being caught, MacKay was sentenced to ten months imprisonment and conveyed to HMP Perth. Mr MacKay was later transferred to HMP Low Moss in 2018 and then to HMP Barlinnie, where he remained a prisoner until his death.
He spent the last three months of his life at Glasgow Royal Infirmary after being diagnosed with Grade B Cell Lymphoma and undergoing chemotherapy.
Due to the level of care that Mr MacKay required and the lack of suitable cells, it was decided that discharging him back to Barlinnie wouldn’t be appropriate.
The inmate also declined “assistance which was thought may be beneficial”.
On February 17, the decision was made to accelerate the application for his release on compassionate grounds which Mr MacKay agreed to shortly before his death.
A further application was submitted directly to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on the afternoon of February 24 but he died later that day.
The FAI concluded that he had died from large B-cell lymphoma and had developed pneumonia.
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