Naples – Concetta Napoletano, mother of Francesco Pio Maimone, the 18-year-old pizza chef killed in March 2023 during a brawl that broke out on the Naples seafront, expressed satisfaction with the sentence.
"I only wanted to hear one word: life imprisonment. And I still tell the boys 'lay down your weapons,'" the woman said after the Naples Assize Court sentenced the main suspect, Barra's young boss Francesco Pio Valda , to life imprisonment.
Francesco Pio 's mother left courtroom 115 of the Naples courthouse and, tearfully, addressed those present, expressing her satisfaction with the sentence.
“Mothers can’t take it anymore, we gave birth to our children and some scoundrel took them away from us,” added Francesco Pio Maimone’s mother.
Father Antonio Maimone addresses young people: “Lay down your weapons”
Their father, Antonio Maimone, instead made an appeal "to all these young people: lay down your weapons and believe in legality and justice, because if you go down the wrong path, there are two outcomes: life in prison or in the grave. Believe in justice and follow the law, because you young people are the future of Naples."
"I prayed every night," his brother Emanuele confided , "for justice. Thanks to the magistrates, lawyers, and police for their investigation."
The sentence is a good thing but there should also be a change in society so that violence does not happen again. Young people should understand that life is more important than fights and weapons, especially in a city like Naples.