The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued an apology to Elizabeth Hudson, a woman who was previously abused by her ex-partner, after an administrative error resulted in her believing that her attacker would be released early from prison. Martin Underwood had assaulted Ms. Hudson in their home in Barnsley and subsequently attacked another victim while out on police bail. He was sentenced to six years and three months in prison in February 2023 after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Ms. Hudson and making threats to kill her. He also admitted committing non-fatal suffocation against the second woman while on bail in the two years leading up to his sentencing.
Ms. Hudson was informed that Underwood could be released in June 2025, with the MoJ citing the early release scheme, which saw 1,700 offenders leave prison to tackle overcrowding. However, due to “key details” missing from the court’s warrant, the MoJ’s communication with Ms. Hudson was an error. The early release scheme did not apply to offenders convicted of certain offences, such as domestic abuse, which Underwood was convicted of.
The MoJ spokesperson offered an apology on behalf of the organization, stating that Underwood would remain in prison until his standard release date. Ms. Hudson had been struggling to convince the MoJ that Underwood could not be released early, but the situation had caused her unnecessary anxiety and stress in fighting the error. She believes that “crimes connected with domestic abuse…should be listed as an aggravated offence.”
The administrative error committed by the MoJ is not only a source of inconvenience to Ms. Hudson in dealing with her abuser, but it’s also raising concerns about the safety of victims of domestic abuse. It points to a lack of awareness or adequate methods put in place to ensure communication with victims is clear and showed limited attention to detail. Hopefully, Ms. Hudson’s story can encourage the British system to put more effort into developing better policies to protect and support victims of domestic abuse
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