Mr Barns, the chair of the Prisoners Legal Service, said Attorney-General Elise Archer and Police Minister Michael Ferguson were being “cynical and grossly insensitive” in bringing into parliament this sitting legislation to remove remissions for prisoners.

“It is appalling and insensitive opportunism for Mr Ferguson and Ms Archer to pursue their political agenda through the tragic death of a poor woman,” Mr Barns said.

“It is simply disgraceful.”

Mr Barns was referring to the death of North Hobart shopkeeper Voula Delios who was killed in July 2016.

A Supreme Court jury on Thursday found Daryl Royston Wayne Cook not guilty of murdering Mrs Delios on the grounds of insanity.

Cook was released from prison three months early on remission.

Ms Archer and Mr Ferguson on Friday urgently requested a review of prisoner psychiatric care assessments after the court was told Cook was released from prison in a delusional state and killed Mrs Delios the next day.

“As we said when we announced that we would move to scrap remissions in 2017, this practice is totally out of line with community expectations and Tasmania is the only state or territory in Australia that still lets prisoners out of prison early under remission,” Ms Archer and Mr Ferguson said.

Mr Barns said he believed it was Cook’s mental health, not his remission that was important.

“Why have they decided to bring this debate on now?” he said.

“There is no link between remissions and reduced offending or a safer community.

“All it will mean is you will see more people in jail for a longer period of time.

“The abolition of remissions in other states has had disastrous consequences with prisons overflowing.”

Mr Ferguson said offenders who were convicted should serve their full sentence.

“Tasmania should not be the only state in the country that sees people get an out of jail free card,” he said.

“This is about making Tasmania a safer place.”

Labor has not decided whether it will support the move to stop remissions.

Labor leader Rebecca White said Labor was consulting on the move.

“We will do what the government has failed to do and that’s actually speaking to people about what this bill means in practice and ensure its the best it can be,” Ms White said.

“Too many times we’ve seen poorly drafted legislation introduced by the Liberal government that needs to be fixed with amendments in the upper house.”

Greens legal spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said removing remissions from the corrections system would create a more volatile situation in “already incredibly strained prisons.”

“Currently, remissions help maintain the ‘carrot’ approach to prisoner behaviour and the justice system generally,” she said.

“Worldwide, corrections systems include remissions, because they work. Why should Tasmania be any different?”