Green light for treatment programs outside prison for drug-addicted prisoners

Final green light from the House of Representatives to the bill containing provisions on home detention for the rehabilitation of drug or alcohol addicted prisoners. There were 153 deputies who voted yes, 42 no and 82 abstentions.

The opposition groups abstained, except the M5S which voted against. The measure, a government initiative, had already been approved in the Senate. The law provides that prisoners with addictions can join therapeutic programs, thus serving their sentence in home detention or in accredited facilities.

The note from Palazzo Chigi and Giorgia Meloni’s reaction

The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, expresses satisfaction with the final approval of the law which strengthens the concrete possibility, for those convicted of crimes committed as a result of drug addiction, to face a recovery process in home detention in the community instead of remaining in prison, when the sentence does not exceed eight years of imprisonment.

It is – we read in a note from Palazzo Chigi – a government bill, which in the Senate was enriched with the contribution of the opposition, and therefore with the implementation of amendments proposed by them, and which is the outcome of the unanimous proposal of the entire world of addictions, starting with the communities. A qualifying proposal, widely shared, endorsed and relaunched by the National Conference on Addiction, held in Rome last November.

This is a victory on several fronts: for those who will take advantage of this opportunity, on the one hand more extensive, on the other hand more serious, compared to the legislation in force up to now; for everyone’s safety, because with a verified recovery the incentive that pushes a group of people to return to crime is eliminated; for the prison population, which will be relieved by the presence of those who choose the community path.