A mother has shared her heartbreak after she was told the offender who 'violently shook' her 21 day old baby, leaving him blind and paralysed, was set for early release under a new government scheme which aims to ease pressure on the prison system.

Adam Andrews, 37, of Raynsford Road in Great Whelnetham, near Bury St Edmunds, was convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent and sentenced to three years in February following an incident that took place on June 28, 2018.

In court, a judge said the baby's injuries were inflicted by "violent shaking" and prosecutor Steven Perian KC said Andrews had shown “absolutely no remorse” for his actions. 

The baby now has 30 to 40 seizures a day, requires constant care and has a significantly reduced life expectancy.

The mother, who has asked to remain anonymous, told the East Anglian Daily Times she has now been informed by her victim support officer that Andrews is set to leave prison early as part of a new government scheme that aims to ease pressure in the prison system. 

On Thursday, July 12, new Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood revealed the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison is set to reduce. 

She said prisons were "on the point of collapse" and announced the end of the  End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, launched in October 2023, which saw the release of 10,000 offenders. 

Instead, the government will temporarily reduce the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison from 50% to 40%, with safeguards in place to manage offenders in the community.

A statement from the government said the scheme would exclude those who have been sentenced for serious violent offences of four years or more, sex offences, and domestic abuse connected crimes including stalking and controlling or coercive behaviours.

Recalling the moment she was told Andrews was set to be released early, she said: "I broke down in tears. I am absolutely heartbroken and devastated." 

"Not only has this process taken almost six years to get a sentence, and he was given such a lenient sentence in the first place, and now this is being used in his benefit."

"If he is not classed as a serious offender for almost taking my child's life away, then who is?" 

The government said those released will be "strictly monitored on licence by the Probation Service" with measures including electronic tagging and curfews, and will face recall to prison if they breach their conditions. 

The changes will come into force in September and the Lord Chancellor has set out plans to recruit more than 1,000 extra trainee probation officers by March next year. 

The mother said she felt the experience of victims and families had not been "taken into consideration" when drawing up the plans.

"I feel powerless," she said.

"I don't think members of the public actually understand that people like him, people that hurt children, that do the most horrific crimes against a child, will be released due to this law." 

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The new government inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons on the point of collapse.

"It has been forced to introduce an early release programme to stop a crisis that would have overwhelmed the criminal justice system, meaning we would no longer be able to lock up dangerous criminals and protect the public.

"The new Lord Chancellor announced in July that she was scrapping the previous government’s early release scheme, replacing it with a system which gives probation staff more time to prepare for a prisoner’s release.

"The government has also set out plans to recruit over 1,000 new trainee probation officers by March 2025 to meet additional demand."