A man released early from prison to ease overcrowding has been charged with murder, marking the most serious offense attributed to someone freed under the government's controversial scheme. The unnamed individual was released after serving just 40% of his sentence under a policy introduced in September 2024.
The early release programme was launched by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to address a severe prison capacity crisis. Male prisons were nearing maximum capacity, prompting the Labour government to allow certain inmates out earlier than the standard 50% of their sentence. The scheme excludes those convicted of sexual offences, domestic abuse, national security crimes, and violent offenders sentenced to more than four years.
Government Response
The Ministry of Justice told the Times: "Our thoughts are with the victim's family. This Government inherited a prisons crisis, days away from running out of space which would have brought the justice system to a standstill, stopped the police from being able to make arrests and led to unchecked criminality on our streets." The department emphasized: "Public safety will always be our top priority, and we are building 14,000 more prison places to keep dangerous offenders locked up."
Scale and Impact
Since the scheme's launch, 38,042 prisoners have been released early. Prison population peaked at 88,439 in February 2024 and currently stands at 87,465. Recalls to prison have risen sharply, with 11,041 inmates returned between April and June 2025 - a 13% increase compared to the same period in 2024. The Ministry described recall rates as "historically high" and "likely to be associated" with both the early release scheme and a Conservative government law change in April 2024.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
