The early release of Alison Chawke is a symptom of a “prison system that's not doing its job”, Sinn Féin has argued.
The 41-year-old mother was sentenced to two years and two months in prison after she pleaded guilty to assaulting two men in a Limerick hotel in November 2023.
However, Chawke served just one month of a 26 month sentence, before she was released under a Community Return Scheme this week.
Her brother, Bill, who received a sentence of two years and six months for his role in the assault, remains behind bars.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Sinn Féin justice spokesperson Matt Carthy said that “serious questions” have to be asked about why someone convicted of a violent crime was released after such a short period of incarceration.
“I'm not equivocating on this at all,” he said.
“There are people who are out of prison today who should be in it and the reason they're out of it is because of the prison overcrowding system.
“That's not acceptable; in my view, we have lots of people who are released on bail and who are repeatedly reoffending and repeatedly receiving bail.
“The reason they're not being remanded in custody is largely because of the prison overcrowding system.”
The Cavan-Monaghan TD added that if there is any “value” in the release of Chawke, it is that it will “shine a light on the fact that we have a prison system that is bursting at the seams”.
“As of yesterday, the 12th of August, there were 5,639 prisoners in a prison system that has a capacity for 4,800m,” he said.
“There were 348 mattresses on the floors of prisons.”
Deputy Carthy continued that chronic overcrowding means that the prison staff are unable to “do their jobs, which is to ensure that we reduce recidivism”.
“The recidivism rates in this State are among the worst across Europe,” he said.
“Of those people who will be released based on the latest figures that we have received, 42% will re-offend within a year.
“For younger offenders, that figure is up on 60% and up on 80% if you look over a period of three years.
“So, we have a prison system that's not doing its job.”
Main image: An arrested woman stands with her hands in handcuffs. Picture by: Alamy.com
