A tragic record is being set within the walls of Italian prisons. Yesterday, a 48-year-old inmate, a drug addict from Campania, took his own life in the Avellino prison.
An extreme gesture that adds to that of a 30-year-old Egyptian in Trieste and a 70-year-old Italian in Genoa, bringing the number of suicides recorded in a single day to three.
In the last eight days, the death toll has risen to six victims (two in Verona and one in Foggia), while since the beginning of the year there have already been 24 cases. An alarming trend that risks surpassing the record of 2023, the darkest year with 91 suicides.
“Dying in prison cannot be downgraded to an ordinary event”, denounces Aldo Di Giacomo, general secretary of the Penitentiary Police Union (S.PP.).
“The identikit of the suicidal prisoner that we have outlined in recent days is confirmed: increasingly younger, with an average age that in 2024 has dropped to under 35, often suffering from mental problems. Suicides among prisoners with mental distress have increased by 40%, and many of them should not have been in penitentiary institutions”.
Among the categories most at risk are drug addicts, who represent a third of the prison population, and foreigners, especially North Africans. Some prisons, such as those in Modena, Verona, Naples Poggioreale, Florence Sollicciano, Palermo Pagliarelli and Foggia, record a particularly high number of deaths, requiring urgent and targeted interventions.
Di Giacomo stresses the urgency of a psychological support plan, with the constant presence of psychologists, psychiatrists, cultural mediators and interpreters. “The lack of communication has a profound impact,” he says.
The union has long been proposing the opening of a psychological help desk in each facility, along with the promotion of social and work activities and training courses, especially for non-EU prisoners.
“There are those who speak of the need for a ‘humanitarian surge’,” Di Giacomo continues. “For us, a surge from the Penitentiary Administration and politics is indispensable. ‘Crocodile tears’ are not enough in these circumstances. The emergency has passed the limit point: the State is incapable of guaranteeing the lives of the people in its custody and the safety of the staff, who are the object of daily attacks”.
The secretary of the S.PP. recalls the existence of alternative measures that, in addition to preventing the repetition of crimes, promote social reintegration. "These are not shortcuts or do-gooder concessions, but a constitutional duty. However, targeted tools and funding are needed, in addition to the collaboration of local authorities and the prison administration".
The situation is now unsustainable. Prison, from a place of re-education, risks turning into a theater of despair. And while the number of suicides continues to rise, politics seems to look elsewhere.
Article published on March 24, 2025 - 09pm
The article talks about tragic situations in Italian prisons, but I don't know if there are practical solutions to address these problems. The life of prisoners is important and an adequate response from the government is needed. More resources are needed.