We fear for our lives after being told our abusive exes will be freed from jail early

Victims of domestic abuse fear early prison releases will put them at risk

Ninoda.com – Women whose former partners were jailed for abusive behaviour say they are frightened after learning the men will be released from prison earlier than expected under a scheme designed to ease severe overcrowding in England and Wales.

About 700 offenders are due to leave custody on Thursday, followed by a further 3,800 over the next year. Victims have received letters telling them that people who harmed them will be freed ahead of schedule, reviving fears that had only recently begun to ease.

Prisons are operating at 98% capacity. Official figures show that only 1,134 places remained in the adult male prison estate, the lowest number of empty beds recorded this year. Staff have said shortages are forcing them to house inmates in unsuitable cells, while the government argues that extra space is urgently needed to prevent the prison system from breaking down.

“I don’t want to die”

Claire Milne’s former husband, Robert Dales, was sentenced to three years in March for coercive control and possessing offensive weapons, including samurai and ninja swords. The Ministry of Justice has told Milne that Dales, 36, will be released early.

Milne said the relationship involved physical violence, threats to kill and intimidation that shaped every part of her daily life.

“There was physical violence. There were threats to kill, there was punching of doors, punching of walls. I trod on egg shells throughout the entire relationship and it was almost like I had to coach myself into what to say just to ensure there wouldn’t be an escalation.”

For Milne, the prospect of Dales returning to the community is not an abstract concern about sentencing policy. It is a personal safety issue rooted in what she says she experienced during the relationship.

“I am scared that he will come after me. I don’t want to die.”

She said she understood the danger because she had lived through it.

“I am not a silly woman – I know that I’ve been in a very high-risk domestic abuse relationship and I know what he’s capable of because I lived it.”

Milne said she was “incredibly angry” with the government and felt that victims’ concerns were not being heard.

Prison pressure behind the policy

Under the early-release plan, people serving sentences of up to 19 months can be freed after completing one third of their custodial term. In many cases, they had expected to spend 40% of the sentence in prison before serving the remaining portion in the community.

The programme will widen from 13 October, when prison governors are expected to release another 650 people serving terms between 19 months and two years and five months. Releases are planned in nine stages through June next year.

People serving longer sentences, including those considered more dangerous, are not expected to become eligible until next year. They had previously anticipated serving two thirds of their sentence in custody; under the revised arrangements, they will serve half in prison.

The policy has put a sharp focus on the tension between the practical limits of the prison estate and the security needs of victims. For those who have endured coercive control, threats or violence, a release date can be a moment of intense uncertainty rather than simply an administrative change.

Coercive control can include behaviour intended to dominate, isolate, intimidate or restrict a partner’s independence. Its effects may continue long after a relationship ends, particularly where victims fear contact, retaliation or an unexpected appearance at their home, workplace or family gatherings.

Christmas fears after a seven-month term

Karen Haynes was also notified that her former husband, Christopher Haynes, will leave prison early. A former primary school teacher, Haynes received a 21-month sentence in April after admitting coercive control against his ex-wife.

His early release is now expected in November. Karen Haynes said the news left her devastated after the effort required to secure justice through the criminal justice system.

“We have fought so hard and we have had to use every inch of the system to get justice. I just find it devastating that somebody [who] can admit all of that can be released after only doing seven months of a custodial sentence.”

She said the timing made the prospect especially distressing. Christmas had been a difficult period during their relationship, and she had hoped for a holiday without fear that he might appear.

“He always made Christmas so hard. We were constantly scared, we wanted one Christmas without him and without us being frightened he will turn up – but it looks like we won’t even get that now.”

Another woman, identified as Alice to protect her identity, said her abusive former partner is expected to be released later this month. She asked for neither her real name nor his to be published because she fears what he could do.

“I am terrified. I had only just started to feel safe and to process what I had gone through.”

Alice said the notification had made her feel as though “the rug had been pulled out from underneath me”.

Government response and exclusions

The Ministry of Justice has said domestic abuse has a “profound and lasting” effect on victims, while maintaining that the most dangerous prisoners should remain in custody. It said people imprisoned for rape, child sexual abuse offences and manslaughter are excluded from the scheme.

The department has argued that extending exclusions further could create an unmanageable prison-capacity crisis. It has also said £1bn is being invested in support services, including domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres.

For victims, however, the central question is whether the support offered will match the anxiety created by an earlier release. Notification letters may give people time to prepare, but they can also reopen trauma and force difficult decisions about safety, routines and contact with family members.

The releases underline that a prison sentence affects more people than the person serving it. For survivors of domestic abuse, the end of custody can mark the beginning of another period of vigilance, even when the legal process that led to conviction was intended to provide protection and a measure of closure.