Attacker's early release an absolute travesty, blinded man says

Michael Norris is calling on the government to ban violent offenders from the early release scheme

A man who was blinded in one eye in an unprovoked attack said he has been "let down" by the justice system after his attacker was given early release eight months into his 28-month sentence.

Michael Norris said the man who attacked him had been released early under the home detention curfew scheme.

Mr Norris, of Wirral, Merseyside, said his release was an "absolute travesty".

The government said releases under sentence were only permitted after full risk assessments of offenders.

The early release scheme was changed in 2023, partly due to prison overcrowding, and now allows inmates guilty of certain crimes to be released six months early.

Prisoners are risk assessed before release and are subject a number of conditions afterwards, including electronic surveillance and residence at an approved address.

Mr Norris's attacker was jailed for 28 months February 2023 and would have previously expected to serve half of that before being eligible for release, but the introduction of the changes meant he was released in the following October.

The MoJ said the authorities "do not hesitate" to return offenders to prison if they break their conditions of release

He said his life was "turned upside down" after he was attacked by the man in a pub in September 2022 and his injuries have seen him undergo several operations and lose his job.

"To serve eight months for blinding somebody is an absolute travesty," he said.

He said he believed those jailed should spend their sentence "in prison and it should be a just amount of time", adding that early release was "just wrong".

He said that while the 10-year restraining order his attacker was subject to gave him some peace of mind, he wanted the government to take into account the impact violent crime has on the victims.

"I understand that prisons are full and that's one reason to be able to say that we need to let people out early, but... we should have enough prison spaces," he said.

He said early releases put stress on victims and giving overcrowding as a reason was "an excuse".

A Ministry of Justice representative said the attack had "appalling consequences for Mr Norris and our sympathies remain with him".

"Offenders are only released on home detention curfew following a thorough risk assessment and are subject to strict conditions including wearing an electronic tag," they said.

They added that the authorities "do not hesitate to return them to prison if these conditions are broken".

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