Victims call for sex attackers to be excluded from early release plans

PC Harper, 28, died in 2019 when he was dragged behind the getaway car of three teenagers who had fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Berkshire.

Days before the Scottish Parliament closed for summer recess, the Scottish government published for consultation a raft of proposals designed to bring about a sustained reduction in the prison population

If backed by Holyrood, the most controversial changes would result in the automatic early release of long-term prisoners serving four years or more.

Up until February 2016, long-term prisoners who had been refused parole were freed automatically after two-thirds of their sentence.

The rules were changed by the SNP administration led by Nicola Sturgeon. Since then, prisoners who do not get parole have been allowed out when they have six months left to serve.

The justice secretary now wants to turn the clock back, reinstating automatic early release at two-thirds of the sentence.

Gray said the proposed change in the automatic release point would help reintegrate prisoners into society.

“This is about managing how we are releasing individuals back into the community, regardless of the heinous or horrific crime that they may have committed,” he said.

“They are going to be released back into society. We’re not talking about whole life orders. We’re talking about determinate sentences.”