Avellino—Paolo Piccolo, the 26-year-old inmate who was the victim of a violent beating inside the prison in the Irpinia capital, has died after a year of hospitalization and agony at the Moscati hospital in Avellino.
From that day on, his condition never recovered: the young man remained severely brain-damaged, weighing just over 24 kilos.
Despite complaints and requests for help from the family, lawyer Costantino Cardiello, and the regional guarantor for prisoners, Samuele Ciambriello, a specialized healthcare facility capable of taking him in had never been found. The case was reported primarily by nonna, Cira Russo, who for months had waged a public battle for her nephew, even protesting in front of the hospital to demand adequate care.
"Paolo was left alone," the woman had repeatedly reported, "and no one took responsibility for providing him with the necessary care." A network of friends, activists, and citizens had mobilized around her, including on social media, but every attempt was dashed by bureaucratic obstacles and the lack of suitable facilities.
The beating behind bars
The young man was the victim of a violent attack inside the Avellino prison in 2023. According to investigators' reconstruction, a group of eleven inmates had taken a prison officer hostage to steal the keys to the prison section, triggering a punitive raid against Piccolo, who suffered a skull crush and 26 stab wounds, one of which punctured his lung.
Three of the defendants chose the fast-track trial and, last July, were sentenced to a total of 27 years and two months in prison.
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The investigation had suggested a punitive expedition motivated by long-standing conflicts between inmates. Footage from internal security cameras and witness statements had led to the identification of those responsible, who were subsequently indicted.
A long ordeal between hospitals and rehabilitation
After the attack, Paolo was admitted to the Moscati Hospital in Avellino in critical condition, where doctors attempted to stabilize him. He was subsequently transferred to the Don Gnocchi rehabilitation center in Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, but his condition worsened, requiring him to be readmitted to the Moscati's intensive care unit.
After twelve months of treatment and increasingly faint hopes, his heart stopped beating.
The battle for the truth
The young man's death has reopened the legal battle: his death could aggravate the situation of the eleven defendants, causing the prosecutors to change the crime they've been charged with. With Piccolo's death, the charge will be reformulated to aggravated homicide.
The family, assisted by lawyer Cardiello, announces that they will continue to demand truth and justice: "We don't want revenge," the lawyer stated, "but rather full recognition of what Paolo suffered behind bars, in a place where he should have been protected by the state."
This case brings the issue of safety and healthcare in Italian prisons back to the forefront of the public consciousness, leaving behind the pain of a family and the silence of an institution that, once again, has failed to guarantee either justice or dignity to a prisoner.
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