Abusive Ex-Partners Freed Early: Three Women Speak of Their Fear as Prisons Run Out of Space

Three women who have been notified that their abusive former partners will be released from prison ahead of schedule have told the BBC they are afraid for their own safety, as a government scheme to ease chronic overcrowding in jails in England and Wales begins to take effect.

Roughly 700 prisoners are due to leave custody on Thursday under the early release plan, with a further 3,800 expected to be freed over the course of the next year. In the run-up to the releases, victims of crime have received letters from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) informing them that their abusers will be let out sooner than originally expected.

One of those women is Claire Milne, whose ex-husband, Robert Dales, was convicted in March of coercive control and of possessing offensive weapons, including samurai and ninja swords. He was handed a three-year prison sentence.

Milne described a relationship marked by physical violence and repeated threats to kill. She said doors and walls in her home were punched, and that she spent the whole relationship "treading on egg shells", effectively coaching herself on what to say in order to avoid triggering an escalation in his behaviour.

The MoJ recently wrote to her to confirm that Dales, 36, would be released early. "I am scared that he will come after me. I don't want to die," she said. "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." She added that she felt "incredibly angry" with the government, accusing ministers of failing to listen to victims.

The letters sent to victims set out the revised release date of the offender in each case and acknowledge that the news is likely to cause distress or a renewed sense of uncertainty. They also seek to reassure recipients that detailed plans will be drawn up to manage any risks posed by the offender's return to the community, and state that the safety of the victim and the wider public is central to that planning. Victims are told how the Probation Service will handle the release and how they can make representations about licence conditions if they wish to do so.

The releases come amid mounting pressure on the prison system. Staff have told the BBC that they are increasingly being forced to place inmates in cells that are unsuitable because of a lack of space, and argue that there is no alternative but to let more prisoners out. Prisons across England and Wales are running at 98% capacity, and the latest government figures show only 1,134 vacant beds remain in the adult male estate - the lowest number recorded this year.

Under the new arrangements, inmates serving sentences of up to 19 months will be freed after completing just one third of their jail term. Most of those affected would previously have expected to serve 40% of their sentence behind bars, with the remainder spent in the community.

The MoJ acknowledged that domestic abuse has a "profound and lasting" impact on victims, but insisted the government remains committed to keeping the most dangerous offenders locked up. It said those jailed for rape, child sexual abuse offences and manslaughter will not be released under the scheme, and warned that going further than that would risk the prison system collapsing altogether. A spokesperson said the government is investing £1bn in support services, including the stationing of domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres.

A second woman, Karen Haynes, was informed that her ex-husband, Christopher Haynes, is also due for early release. The former primary school teacher was sentenced in April to 21 months in prison after admitting to coercive control against her.

Haynes said she was distraught at the news, describing it as "a punch in the gut". She said she and others had fought hard and had to use "every inch of the system" to secure justice, only to learn that a man who admitted such behaviour could be released after serving roughly seven months in custody. She has been told her ex-husband will now leave prison in November.

She also spoke of the toll the abuse has taken on her family's life, particularly at Christmas. "He always made Christmas so hard," she said. "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."

A third woman, who asked to be identified only as Alice, has also been told her perpetrator will be freed later this month. She has requested that neither she nor her ex-partner be named because she is frightened of what he might do. She described her experience as feeling "like the rug has been pulled out from underneath me".

The three cases illustrate a wider tension at the heart of the policy: the government says the early release scheme is necessary to prevent the prison estate from exceeding its capacity, while victims argue that the same measure exposes them to renewed danger from people who have already been convicted of controlling and violent behaviour.

Domestic abuse charities and campaigners have long argued that coercive control is a particularly dangerous form of abuse, because it often involves sustained psychological domination, threats and isolation rather than a single visible act of violence. For victims, the period around an offender's release is widely regarded as one of the highest-risk moments, which is why the notification letters and probation planning are intended to form part of a safety net.

The MoJ has said victims can share their views on licence conditions, which may include restrictions on contact or movement, and that probation staff will manage each offender's return to the community. However, the women interviewed by the BBC said those assurances have done little to ease their anxiety, and they questioned whether the government fully understands the reality of living with the threat of an abusive former partner.

With Thursday's releases marking the first wave of a much larger group due to be freed over the coming year, the debate over how to balance prison capacity against the safety of victims is set to intensify, and the women at the centre of it say they are the ones paying the price.