A convicted armed kidnapper who was released early from prison today shouted “The Great Keir Starmer” as he posed on top of his new £150,000 Bentley.
Daniel Dowling-Brooks, 29, was released seven weeks earlier than expected from a seven-year prison sentence for kidnapping and grievous bodily harm, which he was serving at HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
He was among the first people released Tuesday morning under a program in which more than 1,200 inmates serving sentences of five years or more were released for only 40 percent of their sentences, rather than half.
This is the second mass evacuation under the emergency plan announced by ministers days after the general election; because men’s prisons in England and Wales were almost out of space by the August bank holiday weekend.
Another prisoner released from HMP Swaleside thanked Sir Keir Starmer “from the bottom of my heart” and said he was released from a four-year prison sentence a year earlier than he expected. The third was picked up by a group of men wearing matching hoodies in a black Rolls Royce.
‘I love my life’
Surrounded by a group of 10 friends outside the prison, with the strong smell of marijuana in the air, Dowling-Brooks, a father of two, said: “I love my life” as he posed next to a Mercedes G Wagon priced at £1,500. £100,000.
He said: “I’m a father of two, so I’m out and about at the moment and I’m very happy. I will be fine. I kidnapped someone who owed money to my friend. I tied him up and held him at gunpoint. I beat him. It was bad, but not as bad as it was made out to be.
“I’m so sorry about that though. I’ve changed. Thank you Keir Starmer, I’m so happy to be released early. I’m so glad. I can’t wait to go to McDonald’s. We’re all going there now. I’m free now and can go wherever I want. It’s great.”
“I couldn’t believe they released me so early. My daughter was with me.”
His expectant mother, Sarah Dowling-Brooks, said: “He will get better now. He’s done his time. “I’m so glad he’s home.”
Another prisoner, hugging a friend after being released at 9am on Tuesday, said: “This is amazing. I can taste the fresh air. Ultimately, freedom. I want to thank Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the bottom of my heart.
“I thought I had another year but I left early. I was in prison for four years. It was four long years. But I won’t tell you why I got involved.”
Many men could be seen walking along the road with garbage bags slung over their shoulders; One was leaving the prison estates at HMP Swaleside, HMP Standford Hill and the Isle of Sheppey, home to HMP, as he shook hands with a security guard. Elmley.
Another emerged from HMP Elmley, got straight into the Ford Focus and drove off. He did not explain how the car was waiting for him but said: “It’s great to be outside. I can’t believe my luck. Much obliged.
“I have one more year left. I’m very happy. Now I’m going to go home and see my family. Everyone is excited to go out. It’s like a party. Nobody can believe their luck. I can’t wait to go down to the bar and have a beer.”
Jamal Simpson, 35, who is serving a five-year sentence at HMP Brixton in south London for AKI, was released on Tuesday morning after just over two years in prison.
He said: “I am really happy to be released. Everyone inside is happy to get out. It was said just yesterday. I was shocked, very shocked, but in a good way. I’ve arranged accommodations, so I’m fine. Being outside is relaxing.
“I think this early release plan is a really good idea. I am grateful to Labor and Keir Starmer. “I will definitely vote for them.”
Chief probation inspector Martin Jones has warned that early release of prisoners to tackle overcrowding will be undermined by the “high level” of offenders being recalled to prison.
He said 56 of every 100 inmates released in the first quarter of this year were recalled to prison for reoffending or violating their licence.
“My assessment is that there is a significant risk of losing the amount of space created by SDS40. [early release] “The changes will be reduced as a result of the high levels of recalls that we have seen historically for several years,” he said.
27-year-old Harry, who said he was first sentenced for shoplifting a few years ago, was released last month under the early release plan.
He said he was later recalled to Wandsworth prison and released early for a second time on Tuesday.
He said: “Other than being drunk, rambunctious and a d-head, I haven’t committed any crimes worth going to jail for. “This is so stupid.”
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said emergency measures such as the early release of prisoners “will just buy us some time” to tackle prison overcrowding.
“This will not address the underlying problem because the demand for prisons is increasing by around 4,500 every year,” he told the BBC.
“That’s why we need to think longer term about how we can beat this, because we can’t just build our way out of this crisis.”
He has announced a sentencing review, chaired by his Conservative predecessor David Gauke, aimed at locking up the most dangerous criminals, encouraging offenders to turn their backs on crime and ensuring there is enough room to spread sentences outside prison.
‘Prisons other than prisons’
Ms Mahmood is drawing up plans for a major expansion of community sentencing as an alternative to prison, where judges use technology to create “prisons outside prisons”.
Courts will have the authority to implement virtual prisons through the use of technologies such as GPS tags, smartphones and special watches that remind offenders to attend meetings with parole officers, drug treatment classes and job placement sessions.
These are likely to be modeled on existing home detention curfews (HDCs); In these bans, prisoners are released six months before their scheduled release date and are tagged and prohibited from leaving their homes, effectively under “house arrest” for the remainder of their sentence. for example 7pm and 7am.
Ms Mahmood is expected to announce on Tuesday that the duration of HDCs will be immediately extended from six months to 12 months. This means a prisoner can be released for as little as a quarter of his sentence and be released to spend a year of the remaining term at home instead of in prison.
It will also outline plans to make it easier and faster for prison and probation authorities to re-release offenders who have been recalled to prison for breaching their license after their release. Currently, it may take up to a year for the parole board to make a decision.