A man accused of committing a sexual offence just hours after being released from prison was freed in error under the UK government’s early release scheme. Amari Ward, 31, was among 37 prisoners who were incorrectly deemed eligible for early release despite having breached restraining orders.
Investigations by the police revealed that Ward and the other inmates had been convicted under outdated legislation from 1997, which failed to register them as ineligible during the vetting process. This oversight occurred because the checks were conducted under the Sentencing Act 2020, which did not account for these older convictions.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has confirmed that five of the prisoners mistakenly released remain unaccounted for, and law enforcement agencies are currently working “urgently” to locate them. Ward is scheduled to appear at Maidstone Crown Court next month.
The early release scheme, designed to alleviate severe overcrowding in prisons, allows some inmates to be released after serving 40% of their sentences instead of the typical 50%. The government had stipulated that individuals convicted of offences related to domestic abuse, including those who violated restraining orders, would not qualify for this program.
Former chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, expressed concern about the implications of this incident during a segment on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, stating it would be “very distressing and frightening for the victims.”
While the MoJ confirmed that 32 of the 37 men released early have since been returned to prison, efforts are ongoing to locate the remaining five. Additionally, the department indicated that corrective measures have been implemented for future early releases to prevent similar errors, and they have reached out to all affected victims to address their concerns.
This situation has raised questions regarding the effectiveness of the vetting processes in place for the early release scheme, as well as the potential risks to public safety when individuals with a history of violent offences are inadvertently released. The scrutiny surrounding this case is likely to prompt further reviews of the policies governing prisoner releases and the checks involved to ensure that such oversights do not recur in the future.
