Are they trying to scare prisoners
I think so, yes. The idea being that, although an individual is 'freed' from prison early, the probation system allows them to be re-arrested and returned to prison to fulfill the rest of the remaining sentence if they do anything else wrong.
One of the plus points of such a system I should imagine, is that the 'freed' prisoners, with part of a sentence still hanging over their heads, feel more pressure to integrate back into non-criminal society quickly and - from the home office's optimistic view - permanently, without the need for more costly stays in jail at the tax payers expense.
Whether or not this sytem actually works is, of course, open to debate, especially considering how easy it is to turn a large number of the population into rabid dogs at the prospect of administering what they perceive to be justice.
If, for example, I'd been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a single incident which I now regretted, and, despite all of my attempts at good behaviour and reform whilst serving my sentence, I served it fully without any early parole or acknowledgement of my attempts to reform, I'd probably be pretty miffed with the system and the society that supports it, and less likely to want to integrate when I got out.
I, personally, see no reason why Maxine Carr should receive more severe treatment for her crimes than anyone else, regardless of the crime she was involved with. My thinking on it is that if there is a failing here, and I'm not saying that there is, then it is with the system of justice and not with those being punished by it.
All IMHO, of course.
By the way, off topic because the topic is just too depressing, is anyone else going to see A Perfect Circle soon? I'm going to the Nottingham show on Sunday and am well looking forward to it.
Happy Friday!
Goomer.