Scottish Ministers have the power to release prisoners on licence on compassionate grounds under Section 3 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993.
The information below provides data on applications for release on compassionate grounds submitted since 1993, showing those granted and refused. The figures for applications refused between 1993 and 2010 include some applications made on the grounds of tragic family circumstances. Only applications which met the eligibility criteria for compassionate release were presented to Scottish Ministers.
All applications submitted for Ministerial consideration were approved. Applications which did not meet the eligibility criteria were refused by officials at an earlier stage of the process.
The Scottish Government is not able to provide the names of prisoners who are (or may be) living, as data relating to them is exempt under section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act, other than that of Mr Abdelbaset Ali Mohammed Al-Megrahi which is already in the public domain.
Prisoners Granted Compassionate Release
Prisoners Refused Compassionate Release