Prisoners could earn credits for early release in US-style changes

Prisoners may have to earn their freedom through "good behaviour credits" rather than being automatically released after a set period as part of an overhaul being considered.

- Aletha Adu

The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, who travelled to Texas where a similar scheme was introduced more than a decade ago, said she wanted a "carrot and stick" approach throughout the prison system in England and Wales.

In Texas, there is no automatic early release scheme. Instead, prisoners can reduce the length of time they serve by earning "good behaviour and good time" credits, which means they can serve as little as 25% of their sentence behind bars.