That brought the number of inmates eligible for early release to around 5,000, rather than the previously estimated 6,000. The police officer’s widow, Lissie Harper, has pleaded for Cole and Bowers to be denied early release. AdvertisementSome 900,000 people have signed a petition to prevent the killers’ early release. Britain’s prisons are nearing the breaking point, experts say, while the prison population is projected to keep rising. More than 21,600 people – one-quarter of the prison population – were being held in overcrowded accommodation.