Far too full Italy's prison debacle comes to a head - more and more suicides

It is a picture of devastation that remains after the recent revolt in the notorious Regina Coeli prison in Rome: burnt-down camping stoves, completely demolished furniture and destroyed surveillance cameras. Dozens of inmates recently attacked the prison staff again, putting the prison in the center of Italy's capital into a state of emergency for several hours. Some guards were injured.

The conditions in Italy's prisons are appalling. Prisons are massively overcrowded and the conditions behind the barbed wire walls are miserable in many places. The prison misery in the Mediterranean country is a well-known problem, but not for a long time has it come to such a head as it has this summer. Prisoners are repeatedly rioting behind bars and suicides are on the rise.

Around 10,000 too many prisoners in the prisons

The almost daily reports of riots in prisons or the disastrous hygienic conditions had hardly caused a stir. However, a report by the Ministry of Justice had it all and brought the tiresome topic back into focus: more than 61,000 people are currently in prison in Italy. However, the capacity of the country's 189 prisons is only estimated at around 51,000 places.

The situation in the major cities is dramatic. The Regina Coeli prison in Rome is known as a negative example. There are currently a good 1100 inmates there, but there is only room for 628. The prison is known as a powder keg. Riots are the order of the day.

The latest riot shows just how frayed the nerves are in prisons. The prisoners rioted for several hours. According to Leo Beneduci from Osapp, the prison police union, they were concerned about the prison conditions. But internal power struggles among the various ethnic groups also played a role, says Beneduci. It is also not uncommon for guards to be beaten until they are ready for hospital during riots.

Many prisons are more than 100 years old. They are correspondingly dilapidated. The Regina Coeli prison was put into service in 1881. The original building is even two centuries older. The plaster is crumbling off the façade of the prison, which is located in the Trastevere nightlife district, and the high walls are covered in cracks.

A suicide almost every third day

According to a report by the prisoner aid organization Antigone, 31.3 percent of prisoners are foreigners. 4.3 percent are women. In Italy, children up to the age of six have to serve their sentences with their mothers. There is a lack of suitable facilities. Many mothers therefore have to live with their small children in regular prisons.

The overcrowding has direct consequences for the prisoners, but also for the staff. "A prison where the number of inmates is higher than the number of regular places is a prison where life is bad," says Antigone President Patrizio Gonnella. In an overcrowded prison, the individual needs of the inmates cannot be met. "The prisoner becomes more and more of a number," reports Gonnella.

A suicide almost every third day

Another figure has caused a wave of outrage in Italy: almost 70 prisoners have taken their own lives since the beginning of the year. This means that a suicide occurs almost every third day. Last year there were 85 suicides. The record of 2023 may be surpassed this year. Organizations and experts are sounding the alarm.

Gonnella describes the situation as a "time of tension, suffering and death". The disastrous hygiene conditions are making matters worse. In some places, there is no running water, vermin are spreading in the cells, there is no air conditioning in the hot summer and in winter, heating systems - if available - only work poorly.

The public outcry has made an impression: The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni moved and introduced the so-called Prison Decree at the beginning of August. It provides for a simplification of the bureaucratic procedures for reducing sentences and release to house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet for good behavior.

This could also apply to prisoners in pre-trial detention. They could also remain under house arrest in future. The decree also provides for drug addicts and the mentally ill to be housed in therapy facilities instead of prisons. Prison staff are also to be increased and prisoners are to be allowed to make more and longer phone calls.

Amnesties not a solution for right-wing government

Previous governments tried to counteract this with partial amnesties. Today, the opposition is still calling for amnesties to ease the burden on prisons. The right-wing government in Rome is opposed to this. It would not fit in with their "law and order" promises. "An amnesty would be a failure of the state," said Justice Minister Carlo Nordio.

Aid organizations and the opposition criticize the government's decree as a drop in the ocean. Italy's prison debacle has long been known. They doubt that the prison system can be gradually reformed with individual decrees. In their view, a fundamental reform and radical overhaul of the entire system is necessary.

SDA