Kerre Woodham: Let Matafeo leave jail to die at home

It's not just the good who die young. Twenty-three-year-old Henry Matafeo is dying of cancer. He's been given a few months to live, and wants to die at home. Problem is, Henry's serving a five-year jail term for a vicious aggravated robbery and whether or not he gets his wish to die at home depends on the prison service.


There are grounds for compassionate release but it seems there's precious little compassion in society. Letters to editors and calls to talkback radio have been overwhelmingly in favour of leaving Matafeo to die in jail. They say the privileges of law-abiding citizens, including dying peacefully in the bosom of your family, should be denied offenders to teach them a lesson.


What more do these people want? The man is on his way out. He's not going to be a threat to society for very much longer. Do those who are calling for him to be kept in prison want to grind his bones to dust and flush them down the loo?


The victim in this case says the man should be released to the care of his family, and surely the victim's wishes have to be taken into account. Even the Sensible Sentencing Trust, not known for its wishy-washy, touchy-feely attitude to crims has no objections to the man going home to die, provided all the medical checks have been made. So why is it that a certain sector of society feels so vengeful?

Maybe they've all been victims of crime. Maybe they're fearful souls. Maybe they genuinely believe that the Matafeo case will act as a deterrent to other would-be crims out there. Although, it's hard to see a 23-year-old calling off an armed hold-up because he fears getting cancer and having to die alone. Twenty-three-year-olds, good ones and bad ones, don't believe they'll ever die.

Or maybe people believe they don't get enough recognition for leading blameless lives so they'll extract every last ounce of revenge out of law-breakers, out of spite.

Whatever the reason, it's alarming to hear and read the hardline attitudes towards this man. Surely by showing humanity to the Matafeo family, we're showing them that there's another way, a better way. Although that humanity might be stretched if the family attempts to go for compensation.


A member of the family told me the family were furious it had taken so long to diagnose Henry's cancer and so they were seeking compensation. At which point I almost disappeared down the phone and throttled her. Medicine is an imperfect science and there are thousands of New Zealanders in much the same boat.


No compensation, no way, not ever.

Henry Matafeo has displayed the very worst side of human nature, and now he believes he's paying for that. Let us show the best of humanity and let the man go home to die.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY