The UK government has freed over 1,700 prisoners under a plan meant to ease overcrowding in jails in England and Wales, with inmates released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than 50%. The government’s early release scheme aims to reduce the prison population, preventing the potential spread of coronavirus in British prisons by reducing inmate numbers to manageable levels. Certain categories of prisoner, including sex offenders and those jailed for domestic abuse and violent offences with minimum four-year sentences, are excluded from the scheme. Among those freed on Tuesday were John Price and Ryan Surplice, both of whom experienced appalling conditions in jail.
Some prisoners were quick to praise the early release, with one noting that his family had benefited from his early return. However, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, warned that known domestic abusers may have been released from prison. While certain crimes have been excluded from the scheme, including stalking and coercive control, other offences like bodily harm and threats to murder mean that some prisoners convicted of sexual or violent crimes may still be eligible for early release.
Baroness Newlove, who is the commissioner for victims in England and Wales, expressed her concern that some victims may not be aware of their offenders’ early release dates and therefore will be unable to take protective measures to protect themselves. While the government claims that early releases are made based on the offence and not the offender, some professionals have warned that sex offenders, in particular, have been among those released.
The Napo probation union said that the scheme’s release of domestic abusers and sex offenders posed a threat to public safety, moving the problem from one place to another without evaluating risk. The government’s move comes after the UK’s judiciary prison watchdog released a report stating that severe overcrowding is making it impossible to run an adequate processing and rehabilitation service.
Ultimately, the move has divided opinion, with those who support the release of prisoners claiming that it is a humanitarian decision that avoids a potential health crisis, while others believe that releasing prisoners is a ticking time bomb that poses threats to public safety. Regardless of opinion, it seems that the release scheme will likely become most notable for its support of victims of crime, and reports that some people have escaped long prison sentences by taking a plea deal with prosecutors. Whatever the future holds for early release plans, it seems increasingly clear that modern society will continually grapple with the balance between punishment and rehabilitation
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