Caserta – "There's no more time: politicians must act now to stop the massacre of lives and rights in Italian prisons."
It is a heartfelt cry of alarm launched by Don Salvatore Saggiomo, Guarantor of the rights of persons deprived of personal liberty of the Province of Caserta , who joins the appeal of the National Conference of Territorial Guarantors.
This warning echoes the words of the President of the Republic, delivered on June 30th before the Department of Penitentiary Administration, calling for urgent intervention to address a humanitarian and social emergency that can no longer be ignored.
Prisons: a humanitarian crisis
Italian prisons are in dire conditions: overcrowding, suicides, neglect, and systematic violations of fundamental rights transform penitentiaries into places of suffering, far from their purpose of rehabilitation and social reintegration.
"Every day of institutional silence distances our democracy from its founding principles," Saggiomo denounces, underlining how prison degradation is not only a defeat for inmates, but for the entire state.
Every recovered prisoner is a victory for collective safety, every abandoned prisoner is a disgrace for all of us." The numbers speak for themselves: in the last two years, following the Caivano Decree, juvenile prisons have recorded a worrying increase, going from 385 to 586 inmates.
This figure highlights the crisis even among the youngest, making structural intervention even more urgent.
An invitation to politics: "Come and see"
For July 30th, exactly one month after the President's appeal, the Conference of Guarantors is organizing a national demonstration, which Saggiomo wholeheartedly supports. The invitation is addressed to parliamentarians, MEPs, regional councilors, and institutional representatives: "Enter the prisons with us, come and see, come and listen."
A symbolic but necessary gesture to experience firsthand the reality of a collapsing system, where inhumane conditions fuel desperation and tragedy.
Saggiomo calls for urgent measures to address overcrowding with measures worthy of a constitutional state. Among the proposals is the extension of early social release, advanced by the Honorable Le Giacchetti, which could provide immediate relief. The Guarantor recalls the precedents of 2003 and 2010, when extraordinary laws were adopted at critical times, and calls on politicians to demonstrate courage and responsibility across the board.
“We cannot remain spectators in the face of dozens of suicides and a system that tramples on human dignity,” he underlines.
A cry for justice and dignity
Saggiomo's appeal is not just a denunciation, but a call to collective conscience. Inmates, prison staff, families, and citizens are demanding radical change. "Not tomorrow, but now," insists the Guarantor, emphasizing the urgency of restoring prisons to their function as places of redemption, not suffering. The challenge is clear: politicians must act, and must do so with determination, to stop a silent massacre that undermines the foundations of our democracy.
It's true that prisons are in terrible condition, and no one is doing anything to improve things. Action must be taken now; we can't wait any longer. People's lives are in danger, and their rights are being violated.