Italy Makes It Hard
For Jailbirds to Stay in Jail
A Mass Pardon Triggers
Wave of Bank Heists;
Give Me 'Semi-Liberty'
By GABRIEL KAHN, Wall Street Journal
April 8, 2008; Page A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120760093089595927.html?mod=3Dhpp_us_pageone=
ROME -- Less than two years ago, Italy's prison system faced a crisis:
Built to hold 43,000 inmates, it was straining to contain more than
60,000.
So the government crafted an emergency plan. It swung open the prison
doors and let more than a third of the inmates go free.
Within months, bank robberies jumped by 20%. Kidnappings and fraud
also rose, as did computer crime, arson and purse-snatchings. The
prison population, however, fell so much that for awhile Italy had
more prison guards than prisoners to guard.
In Italy, it sometimes seems that no bad deed goes unpardoned.
The nation's legal system has roots in the unforgiving codes of the
Roman Empire, well known for crucifixions and feeding people to the
lions. But since then it has evolved to become infused with Roman
Catholic notions of forgiveness, along with a healthy dose of
bureaucracy.
The death penalty is considered abhorrent, and life sentences are
rare. Defendants have the right to two appeals, and even traffic
tickets can be appealed to the nation's highest court. Italy's courts
are so clogged that the statute of limitations on most felonies
expires before a final verdict can be reached.
Salvatore Ferranti, whom prosecutors accuse of being a member of a
Mafia crime family in Palermo, as he is released from jail because of
his size.
Claudio Urciuoli, a criminal defense lawyer in Rome, says he often
reassures his clients: "Don't worry, you'll never go to prison."
With the justice system at a standstill, prosecution carries little
stigma. Consider Italy's two-time prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.
He has been named as the target in more than a dozen criminal probes,
and has been sent to trial at least a half-dozen times on charges
ranging from tax evasion to bribing judges.
Legal headaches like these might have stymied a political career
elsewhere. But Mr. Berlusconi is leading in the polls and stands a
good chance of being re-elected as Italy's prime minister this month.
Mr. Berlusconi, who is also one of Italy's richest men, was convicted
in two of the cases brought against him, but the charges were all
eventually overturned on appeal or tossed out because the statute of
limitations had expired. Other cases are still pending in the courts.
Mr. Berlusconi maintains his innocence and has long said he is a
victim of politically motivated prosecutors.
The system has been a boon for other politicians here as well. More
than 20 of the 945 elected members of Parliament have been convicted
of crimes including associating with organized crime and committing
acts of terrorism.
Former Sicily governor Salvatore Cuffaro, for example, was recently
convicted of aiding and abetting a known Mafioso. Mr. Cuffaro, whose
case is on appeal, is expected to be elected to the Senate this month.
A spokesman for Mr. Cuffaro declined to comment.
Prison Infrastructure
The sorry state of Italy's prison infrastructure plays a role, too.
Prosecutors have charged Salvatore Ferranti for being a henchman of
one of Sicily's fiercest crime families. But last month he was
released from the slammer and given house arrest. The reason: He was
too fat. The prison system didn't have beds big enough to accommodate
his 462-pound frame.
"The fact of the matter is that obesity is not compatible with
prison," says Lino Buscemi, secretary of the Sicily region's
Department of Prisoners' Rights in Palermo.
Mr. Ferranti's lawyer declined to comment.
Italy's 2006 prisoner pardon -- which so far has allowed 27,000
inmates to go free -- worked something like a discount coupon. It
lopped three years off every prison sentence, except ones for
terrorism, Mafia-related crimes and a few others. A previous law
already allowed anyone serving less than three years to perform
community service instead of going to jail. So now, just about anyone
sentenced to six years in jail doesn't have to serve a day.
Some U.S. states have tried to combat soaring jail costs by paroling
some less-dangerous inmates or allowing for house arrest. Still, in
Italy, even for hardened criminals, hard time is rare.
Semi-Liberty Program
Cristoforo Piancone was one of the most fearsome members of the Red
Brigades terrorist group which carried out numerous assassinations,
kidnappings and robberies during the 1970s and '80s. Mr. Piancone was
convicted of six murders and two attempted murders, and given the
maximum prison sentence, according to police.
But in return for good behavior, he was placed in what is known as a
"semi-liberty" program, which lets convicts leave jail during the day.
So Mr. Piancone took a day job as a janitor in a school, according to
police.
Last summer, flanked by an accomplice, he walked into a bank in Siena
wearing a fisherman's hat and sungl***** and, armed with a pistol,
held it up for EURO 170,000, or about $267,000, according to police. He is
back in prison, awaiting trial.
Neither Mr. Piancone nor a lawyer representing him could be reached
for comment.
Prosecutors complain the deck is stacked against them. "Someone who
commits bribery, insider trading, tax evasion, false bookkeeping, what
have you, is pretty much guaranteed to go free," says Bruno Tinti, a
prosecutor in Turin who wrote a book about Italy's justice system
called "Toghe Rotte" or "Broken Robes." One chapter pur****ts to
outline a satirical step-by-step guide to killing your wife and mostly
avoiding jail time.
Here's the logic: Once the deed is done, Mr. Tinti writes, immediately
confess and provide the police with the weapon and the corpse. These
steps mean that, under Italian law, there is no risk of flight or
evidence-tampering, and therefore no need for pretrial custody.
Murder can carry a sentence of more than 20 years, but requesting a
speedy trial automatically cuts that by a third. Arguing that your
dead wife was cheating can be good for another third off. Eventually,
the sentence can be reduced to 10 years -- at which point only four
years will actually need to be served. (Recall that most people
sentenced to six years or less don't serve the time due to community-
service and other provisions.)
"This is the proof that court sentences are fiction," says Mr. Tinti.
Arresting Mr. Riina
Prosecutors say the only sure form of punishment at their disposal is
to have someone placed in pretrial custody. Once a trial starts,
however, courts usually let defendants out.
Advocates for defendants' rights argue that prosecutors abuse this
power because they often jail people who are later acquitted.
Even when prosecutors win big cases, it's tough to keep people behind
bars. In 2002, prosecutors succeeded in arresting Giuseppe Riina, one
of the sons of the infamous "boss of bosses" Salvatore "Tot=F2" Riina,
who had led the Sicilian Mafia until the early 1990s. A court
sentenced the younger Mr. Riina, now 27, to more than 14 years in
prison for extortion and for being a Mafia member.
Mr. Riina's lawyer declined to comment on the case.
An appeals court ordered a partial retrial for Mr. Riina. Then, in
February, another court ordered him released from jail while he awaits
the completion of his trial. The day after he was let out, he was
photographed bringing pastries to his mother in his hometown of
Corleone
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