Burnham pauses plan to release some prisoners early from September
Summary
Andy Burnham has paused a plan that would have allowed many prisoners in England and Wales to be released early starting in September. The decision came after criticism from victims and their families, and a review will be done to improve how victims are informed and to ensure public safety.Key Facts
- The early release scheme was part of the Sentencing Act and aimed to reduce prison overcrowding.
- Some offenders would have been released after serving one-third of their sentence instead of half; more serious offenders after half instead of two-thirds.
- About 700 prisoners were expected to be released early under the plan in September.
- The scheme drew criticism from victims’ families, including the widow and mother of PC Andrew Harper, who was killed by teenagers in 2019.
- The Justice Secretary, Alex Norris, said the scheme is paused to give victims more certainty and to review how information is shared with them.
- Prisoners will not be released early until the review is done and risks to the public are minimized.
- Victims and survivors, including campaigners against early release, welcomed the pause on the scheme.
- The government hopes to fix issues with the policy before moving forward.
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