A man murdered his girlfriend after he was released early from prison to ease overcrowding.
Andrew Mournian had already served five jail terms when he was jailed for 20 weeks for attacking Amanda Murphy.
But eight weeks into that sentence, he joined the roll-call of 11,000 other inmates given their freedom early.
And five days later he beat Miss Murphy so badly that the mother-of-two died in hospital of her injuries.
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Vile: Murderer Andrew Mournian killed his girlfriend after being released early for attacking her
The case - which emerged yesterday - immediately triggered demands for the Government to scrap its early-release policy. Ministers are braced for two more shocking cases - including a sex assault - to come to court.
Critics last night questioned how many more early-release inmates had committed serious crimes.
After the fatal attack, Mournian, 36, dialled the emergency services and claimed Miss Murphy had fallen down the stairs.
The 48-year-old ex-teacher suffered fatal head injuries along with internal bleeding and fractures to the face and ribs.
Her mother, Elaine, struggled even to recognise her.
In 2005, Mournian served a 12-month sentence and was given an Asbo for attacking a former girlfriend with a beer bottle.
Miss Murphy, in their ten months together, complained to police five times about Mournian's violence. In June, he was convicted of assault and criminal damage and given a 12-month supervision order.
A day later he attacked Miss Murphy again at their home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and received the 20-week sentence.
Despite his past history, and with fatal results, he was deemed eligible for the early-release programme brought in by the Government in June after prison spaces ran out.
The scheme is to continue indefinitely while Justice Secretary Jack Straw scrambles to build more jails.
Nick Herbert, his Tory shadow, said: "Andrew Mournian killed Amanda Murphy when he should have been in prison. He was released early as part of a disastrous scheme to relieve prison overcrowding.
"We argued that this scheme put members of the public at risk and should be scrapped immediately - this has now been tragically demonstrated."
Opposition politicians say the early-release scheme is a direct result of Labour's failure to build enough prisons. More than 2,000 violent offenders have benefited from the programme so far.
Prisoners released early are not individually risk-assessed and have committed 180 further crimes.
In the Commons yesterday, Mr Herbert asked Mr Straw: "What have you got to say to Miss Murphy's relatives about the Government's decision to release such offenders early?"
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Attacked: Jack Staw was criticised for his early-release End of Custody Licence sheme
Mr Straw replied that the judge had indicated Mournian - an alcoholic and heroin addict - would have killed whenever he was released.
At Leeds Crown Court last week, Mrs Justice Swift sentenced Mournian to life imprisonment and ordered that he serve a minimum of 14 years in jail.
Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said Mournian, who admitted murder, was a "ticking timebomb" who should still have been behind bars when he carried out the fatal attack.
The Tories last night released a list of questions for Mr Straw to answer, including whether checks were made on the address Mournian gave to officials.
Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of probation union Napo, said his organisation had warned ministers in the summer of the dangers of freeing inmates without risk assessments or address checks.
He added: "We pointed out that men with a history of violence against their partners were being let out without proper checks.
"The scheme needs to be urgently revised to ensure that anyone convicted of violence against their partner is not automatically returned to the same address."
Last week, Mr Straw announced plans to build an extra 15,000 prison places by 2014, taking the total to 96,000.
The scheme includes up to three huge Titan jails, holding up to 2,500 inmates each, a prison ship and the conversion of a former army camp.
But the Government's own expert, Lord Carter, said more than 100,000 places were needed by 2014.
This will mean thousands of criminals being electronically tagged instead of jailed.
Wife-beater released early during prison crisis killed girlfriend five days later | the Daily Mail
Wife-beater released early during prison crisis killed girlfriend five days later
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