A man who had just walked free from prison under the government’s emergency early release scheme stabbed a father to death the same day, in a brutal gang attack that has sparked outrage.
Lewis Bell Fatally Stabbed Hours After Killer’s Release
Lewis Bell, 26, was chased through the streets of Stockton in the early hours of September 19, 2024, before being stabbed in the back and left to die. One of the men who helped carry out the deadly attack, Liam Matthews, had been released from HMP Holme House just hours earlier under new measures designed to ease pressure on Britain’s overcrowded prisons.
Matthews, 26, joined two others in ambushing Bell during a violent altercation believed to have started in a local drug den. Bell, a father of one, was already being attacked by two men when Matthews joined in, slashing at him with a chisel.
Convictions Handed Down in Teesside Court
Sean McLeod, 23, was convicted of murder. Liam Matthews and Ashton White, 18, were both convicted of manslaughter. A fourth man, 26-year-old Macauley Wright, was found guilty of assisting an offender after helping the attackers dispose of weapons and clothing and arranging a taxi to flee the scene.
All four are due to be sentenced on June 19.
Brutal Attack Caught on CCTV
Cleveland Police said the group fled after the fatal stabbing, tossing away evidence before fleeing Stockton. Matthews had previously been convicted of violent disorder over a street fight in 2023 and had been serving a 22-month sentence until his early release on the same day as the killing.
Victim’s Family Devastated
Bell’s family described him as a “much-loved father, son, brother and uncle,” saying: “Lewis was killed in the most brutal and heartless way. We hold all three males convicted responsible for his murder despite the convictions of two of them for manslaughter.”
Criticism Mounts Over Early Release Policy
The case has drawn sharp criticism of the government’s emergency prison release scheme, introduced in 2024 to cope with a critical lack of prison space. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson defended the scheme, saying: “We had no choice but to introduce an emergency early release programme… this case will be investigated fully.”
Detective Chief Inspector David Glass said: “Lewis Bell did not deserve to die. This was a pre-planned, sustained attack by a gang who chased him down with weapons. They inflicted a number of stab wounds, one of which was fatal – then left him to die.”
