// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
What's behind having to release some prisoners early?
The government has changed its plan to release thousands of offenders in England and Wales well before the end of their sentences in an attempt to make space in prisons.
People sentenced for rape, serious child sex and grooming offences will now not be eligible for early release from October.
But some prisoners who are not excluded could be freed after serving a third of their total custodial sentence rather than after 40% or 50% of their term.
This is not the first time a government - Conservative or Labour - has had to release prisoners early to make space in England and Wales' overcrowded prisons.
BBC Verify has looked at the reasons why ministers feel the need to resort to these measures.
The prison population in England and Wales on 3 August was 86,495, external, which was 97% of useable capacity.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has warned the prison population will overtake capacity as soon as this November.
In the long-term the MoJ has projected that the capacity of all prisons will rise to around 99,000 by 2032 as a result of more prisons being built by this government.
But it also projected that the prisoner population would rise to about 104,000 by 2032 if the Sentencing Act 2026 - which provides for earlier release - did not come into force.
That is why new Justice Secretary Alex Norris says there is a "prison capacity crisis" which means the government has to implement the latest early release scheme.