The prison decree “contains some notable innovations. Starting with the possibility of carrying out sentences in environments other than prison, such as drug addiction communities. Then it is up to the magistrates to decide whether to send them there or not. I would like to remind you that prisoners are not put in prison by the government, but by judges”. This was stated in an interview with Corriere della Sera by Justice Minister Carlo Nordio.
To address the emergency of prison overcrowding, “we have projects that we want to illustrate to the head of state. It would be disrespectful to anticipate them here. But if we combine the possibility for drug addicts to go to other facilities with that of allowing foreign prisoners to return to their country, on which we are working night and day, together with the Farnesina, we can get to 15-20 thousand fewer prisoners. That’s overcrowding solved,” says the Keeper of the Seals.
On pre-trial detention, “the need for a reform on the subject is felt by the entire majority”, Nordio underlines again. “No. Obviously for robbers, corrupt rapists and perpetrators of other serious crimes, pre-trial detention will remain. What matters is to better define the conditions for its application. Starting with the requirement of the repetition of the crime. The danger cannot be deduced from the remaining in office of the public administrator accused of corruption”.