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Second phase of early prison releases begins in England and Wales

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Hundreds of prisoners in England and Wales are being released early on Tuesday 13 October in the second phase of a government scheme to ease prison overcrowding. Under the new rules, offenders leave jail after serving a third of their sentence rather than half. The BBC reports about 650 offenders in this stage. The Guardian reports about 2,000 people freed this month, with another 3,000 to follow over the next year, and says the total was reduced from 6,000 after an intervention by Andy Burnham. Prisoners convicted of manslaughter are excluded. The probation union Napo is preparing a ballot on industrial action over pay and workloads, to launch on 19 October, and says the releases have strained its members.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Hundreds of prisoners in England and Wales are being released early in the second phase of a government scheme to ease overcrowding.

    Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News, Sky News

  2. Offenders in this phase leave jail after serving a third of their sentence instead of half.

    One outletBBC News· Center

  3. The BBC reports about 650 offenders in this phase, while the Guardian reports about 2,000 freed this month with 3,000 more over the next year.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News

  4. Prisoners convicted of manslaughter are excluded from the early releases.

    One outletThe Guardian· Left

  5. The probation union Napo is preparing a ballot on industrial action over pay and workloads, to launch on 19 October.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    BBC News

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The number of offenders being released in the second phase.

    The BBC reports about 650 offenders in this phase. The Guardian reports about 2,000 criminals freed this month, with another 3,000 to follow over the next year. The figures describe different periods and groups, and the coverage does not reconcile them.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that hundreds of prisoners are being released early in England and Wales to ease overcrowding, and that the probation union is preparing a strike ballot. The main difference is scale and tone: the BBC and Sky give the figure of about 650 for this stage in neutral terms, while the Guardian gives a larger monthly total and calls the plan controversial.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The Guardian headline reports the second wave as under way, but its description calls the government plan controversial and leads with the 2,000 total and the union strike move.

    Second wave of early prison releases under way in England and Wales
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines report the second stage plainly as hundreds more prisoners being freed or leaving jail, with overcrowding as the stated aim and little added colour.

    Hundreds more prisoners to be freed in second phase of early release scheme
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    controversial plan

  • Center2

    radically overhaulrejoiced

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    radically overhaulMore neutral: change

    The word radically adds emphasis to a description of a government plan that the article otherwise reports neutrally.

    The second wave of releases comes as the government takes its plan to radically overhaul criminal courts back to Parliament - but also as probation officers prepare to…

    Used byBBC News (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    rejoicedMore neutral: were leaving

    The verb assigns an emotional reaction to the prisoners that the scene description does not establish.

    Prisoners rejoiced as they left jail early during the second stage of a government scheme to ease…

    Used bySky News (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    controversial planMore neutral: plan

    The label controversial presents the plan's reception as a settled judgement rather than reporting who disputes it.

    …of offenders walking out across England and Wales under the government’s controversial plan to ease overcrowding.

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • controversial government plan
  • 2,000 freed this month and 3,000 more
  • domestic abusers and violent offenders among those freed
  • probation union strike move

Leaves out

  • Sentence fraction served before release, a third rather than half
  • Figure of about 650 offenders in the second stage

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of the releases
  • overcrowding as the aim
  • sentence served at a third
  • strain on probation officers

Leaves out

  • Total of about 2,000 freed this month and 3,000 more to follow
  • Exclusion of manslaughter convicts, including the PC Andrew Harper case

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • Sky NewsCenter

    Hundreds more prisoners to be freed as second early release stage begins

    Prisoners Loaded verb“rejoiced”The verb assigns an emotional reaction to the prisoners that the scene description does not establish.More neutral: were leavingDisagree with this highlight? as they left jail early during the second stage of a government scheme to ease overcrowding.

    Read at Sky News (opens in a new tab)
  • BBC NewsCenter

    Hundreds more prisoners to be freed in second phase of early release scheme

    Second tranche of prisoners will include those serving up to two and a half years for crimes.

    Read at BBC News (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    6 hr later

    Its first report, Oct 13, 3:13 AM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    BBC News, Oct 12, 9:13 PM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BBC NewsCenterOct 12, 9:13 PM EDT
  2. Sky NewsCenterOct 13, 1:50 AM EDT
  3. The GuardianLeftOct 13, 3:13 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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