Questions pile up after 'soft touch' early releases in crowded prisons

THE SNP Government has been accused of "soft-touch justice" after sanctioning the early release of convicts – even in cases where they had broken prison rules.

- By David Walker Scottish Politics Reporter

Nats ministers passed emergency legislation last year to let out potentially violent offenders early in an effort to stem overcrowding in jails.

However, this policy has failed to cut down numbers to ensure safe capacity behind bars, with a number of prisons still overcrowded, including Barlinnie which is deemed dangerously so.

Broken

The Scottish executive vowed only to use the new powers as a last resort, but did so already within months of gaining them. And now the government has been accused of "rewarding bad behaviour" after it emerged that 60 freed inmates had broken jail rules during their sentence.

A total of 312 convicts were let out early in February and March under the scheme.