‘Plan is to go to KFC’: How Leeds prisoners reacted after being released from prison early
“I just want to get myself some work, make my family proud.”
Prisoners who were released from prison early in Leeds as part of a controversial Government scheme have shared their plans after gaining their freedom.
Offenders stepped out of the doors of HMP Leeds, which is just outside the city centre, on Thursday (October 1) morning. About 700 eligible offenders will expected to leave jails across England and Wales today - with 2,550 are due to be released by the end of the year.
The early release programme is part of a plan by the Government to free up space in prisons. Under the scheme, some prisoners will have served just a third of their sentences, for crimes including domestic abuse and some sexual offences.
However, it was all smiles from the offenders who got to leave HMP Leeds, which is a category B prison, on Thursday.
Released prisoner Jordan Laverack, 26, said outside HMP Leeds: “The plan for today is to go to KFC and after that I’m not sure.”
He continued: “I think early release is good for myself. I can see why there’s a lot of attention behind it, because there might be people doing heinous crime who are getting released early. But for the average person, who’s missed probation like myself, I think it suits somebody like me.”
Mr Laverack said he served just under four weeks for missing probation appointments, but would not say why he was on probation, adding: “Nothing too bad”.
He said: “I just want to get myself some work, some employment, make my family proud, maybe get a girlfriend, get married, you never know."
Mr Laverack continued: “They’ve actually released me with nowhere to stay but I’ve got a few friends I can stay at. The people who don’t will be back doing what they’re doing.”
Asked about conditions in the jail, he said: “Prison is no good for anyone. It’s not clean, you can smell the toilet, the bed and mattress will make you itch. It’s not a good place.”
He explained: “It’s quite crowded. It’s not great. But I wasn’t expecting a four-star hotel.”
Mr Laverack, from Leeds, concluded: “I’ve got my life ahead of me.” He said it was not his first time in prison but “hopefully my last”.
Early release prisoner Matthew Johnson, 35, said he was “buzzing” to be out.
Leaving HMP Leeds he said: “It’s a good idea, to be fair. They need to free up some places anyway. It’s a bit cramped.
“The staff are overwhelmed anyway with what they’ve got to cope with at the minute.”
Father-of-five Mr Johnson, from Wakefield, said he was going to “go home and see my kids” after he was released after six months from an 18 month sentence for actual bodily harm.
Asked what he would say to opponents of the early release scheme, he said: “You want to see what’s inside these rooms, then you’ll know.
“It’s hectic. It’s crowded. It’s overcrowded – cells for one person with two people in them.”