Prisons on the verge of collapse, the Guarantors sound the alarm: "A deflationary measure is needed immediately."

A social bomb waiting to explode. Italian prisons today are the most exposed face of institutional inhumanity, places where the numbers speak volumes of the agony of a collapsing system. There are 62.723 inmates currently held in Italian penitentiary facilities, compared to just 46.706 available places. And in Campania, the situation is even more dire: 7.571 inmates are detained, compared to an effective capacity of 5.497. Poggioreale, a symbol of the disaster, houses 2.066 inmates, although it can only hold 1.300.

Samuele Ciambriello, spokesperson for the National Conference of Territorial Guarantors and regional ombudsman for prisoners in Campania, raised the alarm during the national demonstration that also took place in Naples, in front of the Courthouse and on the outskirts of Poggioreale. "This," he said, "is no longer an administrative emergency, it's a social emergency. Suicides in cells and overcrowding require swift and courageous decisions. We are calling for special early release, increasing it from 45 to 75 days every six months, and for a deflationary measure, as was done by the Berlusconi governments in 2003 and 2010."

The numbers are shocking: in Italy, over 9.200 inmates have less than a year left in their sentences. In Campania, there are 904. These figures demonstrate how a significant portion of the prison population could be managed with alternatives to detention. Making matters worse, entire prison sections are unusable and there is a severe staff shortage: there is a shortage of prison officers, doctors, educators, and social workers. And the tension inside is growing every day.

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The demonstration, alongside the municipal and regional Ombudsmen, included Don Tonino Palmese, a representative of the Prison Pastoral Service, members of the Neapolitan legal profession, representatives of the Movimento Forense and the Bar Association of North Naples, as well as symbolic figures such as Father Alex Zanotelli and several regional councilors. All united in a collective cry: stop looking the other way. Prisons can no longer be no-man's lands, nor human dumping grounds where the state disposes of social distress.

Ciambriello recalled that even during the pandemic Covid The measure of extraordinary early release was adopted, and Italy has already been sanctioned by the European Court of Human Rights for degrading treatment. "We cannot wait for more convictions or more deaths. Strong action is needed now."

Vincenzo Scarpa

Vincenzo Scarpa, Journalist for Cronache della Campania and
Political Science student at the University of Naples Federico II.
Passionate about all types of sports, he loves to write and talk mainly about football.