英国官员正在进行最后一天的谈判，就政府早期释放计划的豁免名单达成共识。[1]曼彻斯特市长安迪·伯纳姆重点关注防止儿童性虐待犯被提前释放。[1]政府需在24小时内完成评估，以确定哪些重刑犯可获得早期释放以缓解监狱拥挤问题。[1]
这一早期释放方案原定于秋季启动，初期将释放约700名犯人。[1]根据《2026年量刑法》，严重罪犯可在服完刑期一半后获释（原为三分之二），较轻罪犯可在服完三分之一后获释（原为40%）。[1]前司法大臣大卫·拉米曾警告，如不实施该计划，英格兰和威尔士监狱将在11月面临容量耗尽的困境。[1]
然而，受害者权益代表和支持服务机构的强烈关切使儿童性虐待犯成为优先豁免对象。[1]受害者保护专员克莱尔·瓦克斯曼周三与司法大臣亚历克斯·诺里斯进行了会晤。[1]司法部长杰西卡·菲利普斯表示："豁免是直接的安全危机，但需要进行深入工作以使情况永久改善。"[1]强奸危机英格兰和威尔士首席执行官西亚拉·博格曼指出，受害者不应被置于这种困境。[1]
British officials are in the closing hours of negotiations over exemptions from the government's early prisoner release scheme, with Andy Burnham making prevention of child sexual abuse perpetrators' early release a central focus [1]. The government must complete its assessment within 24 hours to determine which long-sentence prisoners can be freed early to address severe prison overcrowding, with each exemption decision weighing the risk of criminal justice system collapse [1].
The early release initiative was originally scheduled to begin in autumn, initially freeing approximately 700 prisoners [1]. Under the 2026 Sentencing Act, serious offenders can now be released after serving half their sentence instead of two-thirds, while less serious offenders can leave after serving one-third rather than 40 percent [1]. Former Justice Secretary David Lammy had warned that failure to implement the scheme would leave English and Welsh prisons with no available capacity by November [1].
High-profile cases have intensified scrutiny of the exemptions process. Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, convicted of murdering police constable Andrew Harper, may qualify for early release under the new rules [1]. Victim Protection Commissioner Claire Waxman met with Justice Secretary Alex Norris on Wednesday to discuss concerns [1]. Jess Phillips stated that "exemptions represent a direct safety crisis, but deep work is needed to permanently improve the situation" [1], while Ciara Bergman, Chief Executive of Rape Crisis England and Wales, expressed that "victims should not be placed in this position" [1].