Found for us by the Texas news ninja, Betsy!
The government has been acting unlawfully by keeping prisoners in jail longer than necessary, judges say.
The Appeal Court ruling came in a case brought by a sex offender who had been handed an indeterminate jail sentence.
Under the sentence offenders are given a minimum tariff, but must prove they are no longer a danger to the public before they can be released.
David Walker argued he cannot be considered for release because his jail does not offer a parole course.
The Court of Appeal ruled there “was a general and systemic legal failure”.
The government was granted a stay on the ruling, pending an application for permission to make an appeal.
BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said if the government’s appeal was not successful, hundreds of prisoners might have to be released before it was determined that they were safe .
‘Cannot be justified’
Walker was given an indeterminate sentence after being convicted of sexual assault while drunk, and is currently in prison in Doncaster. MORE
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