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23 Dig.: Nat'l Italian Am. B. Ass'n L.J. 95 (2015)
A Journey through Italy's Overcrowded Prisons

handle is hein.journals/digst23 and id is 97 raw text is: A JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY'S OVERCROWDED PRISONS A JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY'S OVERCROWDED PRISONS GIANCARLO P. PEZZUTI* Prisons across Europe are facing an overcrowding crisis, a manifestation of at least three trends: tougher sentencing by judges (particularly for drug-related offenses), a painfully slow justice system and lack of money to build and manage new facilities to accommodate the excess number of inmates. This crisis is particularly acute in Italy, where correctional facilities are extremely crowded with a daily avalanche of convicted men and women. Almost 67,000 inmates are housed in Italian facilities that were designed to hold only 45,000-meaning they are at a capacity of more than 140%, among the highest rates in the European Union, with some individual prisons at 268% capacity, where the average capacity is just under 100%.1 There are a number of reasons for the prison overpopulation in Italy. The Italian correctional system is currently based on a criminal code that dates back to 1930, since it was enacted during the Fascist period, and is basically aimed at the restriction of physical freedom, using detention or arrest, and enforced by fines.2 In 1948, when the Republican Constitution came into force, the so-called Rocco Code had to be interpreted according to a supreme principle introduced into the Italian system: the purpose of punishment is the social rehabilitation of the inmate.3 In addition, Article 27 of the Constitution states: Punishment shall not consist of treatments against the sense of humanity and shall be aimed at the re-education of the sentenced person; thus, the punishment must be a path to rehabilitate the person who is sentenced. In Italy, although recently there have been major steps forward, there is still a use of detention as a means of taking precautionary measures (under extrema ratio) when there is a high risk of a person fleeing, of committing additional crimes, and a danger of interfering with evidence. In addition, many inmates are in prison awaiting their trial or awaiting final judgment and determination of their prison sentence. The prison population in Italy has had a sharp increase in recent years. In part this is due to the crisis of the welfare state, together with the lack of social supports for people in need. There has also been an increase in the number of people in prison related to concerns regarding security issues.4 Foreigners often make-up members of these groups (people lacking social support or people identified as security risks). Despite the complications of making international comparisons (due to different legal * Giancarlo Pezzuti graduated in law from the University Federico II of Naples and clerked at the criminal law firm Pietro Costa. In 2000, he was admitted to the Napoli Bar Association and was appointed as Honorary Prosecutor in 2001 by the Superior Council of Magistracy. He has taught at training centers and institutes of higher education and has sued the Italian government at the European Court of Human Rights, denouncing prisoners' conditions in jails and unfair trials. He co - founded the association Divenire and the Cooperative Novalis to support kids at risk of delinquency. Currently, he is a public prosecutor at the Courts of Ischia and Capri. 1. Stefania Girone & Francesca De Palma, Overcrowding in Italian Jails. A Quantitative Analysis of Foreigners, 2 REVISTA PoLIs, (2013). 2. PIETRO TIDEI, LA SITUAZIONE PENITENZIARIA IN ITALIA. PROBLEMI E PROSPETTIVE, 168 (Vecchiarelli 2010). 3. PIETRO BUFFA, PRIGONI. AMMINISTRARE LA SOFFERENZA, 296 (Le staffette Collana, EGA-Edizioni Gruppo Abele 2013). 4. ELENA BOCCI, SBARRE DENTRO E FUORI IL CARCERE, 217 (Arcane, 2011). 20151