Italy Inmates Use Coronavirus as Get-Out-of-Jail Free Card

Italy was one of the worst-stricken countries plagued by the coronavirus, and when news of 376 inmates being moved to house arrest in line with health and safety guidelines explode, the public was in an uproar.

New York Times reported that the news was announced last week, which includes hundreds of inmates planned to be put through the same process. The move caused an immediate backlash, and the return of maximum-security inmates and crim figures to their homes made the front pages.

A compromise in the system

The news also put into spotlight the condition of the country's prisons where overpopulation is a known problem. There are more than 60,000 inmates in facilities that were designed for 46,875. The surplus of prisoners results in a lack of basic accommodation, health care, and even rehabilitation programs.

The risk of significant outbreaks within the nation's jails forced the move to be conducted, as protests within several prisons that erupted in early March supported.

The release of the figures is in line with a report by The Guardian last month stating Italian judges released at least three aging mob members to be placed under house arrest.

L'Espresson, a news magazine that the release of one of the most influential bosses of Cosa Nostra, has had his release ordered by a judge in Milan. The 78-year-old Francesco Bonura was in the middle of a 23-year sentence, and his movement to house arrest enabled health-related activities.

Related events were seen when both Vincenzino Iannazzo, 65, and Rocco Santo Filippone, 72, were ordered to be released from their holding facilities in recent weeks. The two inmates are alleged bosses of Ndrangheta. Filippone, in particular, could be much more susceptible to the coronavirus as he is suffering from a severe cardiovascular disease.

The decades-long battle of the country against the mobs that reside within its territory is another front that the nation is battling amid the coronavirus pandemic that has already taken more than 30,000 lives and 220,000 infections.

The pandemic has put into question the balance between prisoners' rights and the constitutional right to health. Fears that Italy was lax in the presence of a scourge has been felt.

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Government officials quickly tried to make amends as several parties, including political rivals, and even some majority members believe the criminals are taking advantage of the increased health risk as a reasonable get-out-of-jail-free card.

An opportunity that could be taken advantage of

Prosecutors shared their thoughts that the predicament shows just how much Italy has grown lax of its fight against organized crime, due to enabling the Mafiosi more free reign over external communication.

Giancarlo Caselli, an anti-Mafia prosecutor, said that "The Mafia feeds on signs," and that the move to return a mafia boss to his territory is a sign that they have something to take advantage of.

The solution to the overcrowding of jails was countered by a government decree as reported by Governo, which was released on March 16, allowing authorities to transfer detainees who had less than 18 months remaining on their service, to house arrest until June 30.

The policy, however, appears to have been effective in keeping the infection contained as only 137 inmates were tested positive, two have been sent to the hospital, and four deaths, along with 202 penitentiary staff testing positive for the disease.

With the recent slowing of the pandemic, government officials released a new decree requiring judges to review their previous decisions and decide whether or not the mobsters placed under house arrest were safe enough to be returned to prison.