Naples - The dramatic death toll in prison has added another victim. Last night, in Poggioreale prison, a 56-year-old Italian inmate died of a sudden heart attack.
The news was announced, immediately raising alarm about the living conditions in the Naples prison, by the Campania region's Prison Ombudsman, Samuele Ciambriello, who this morning visited the unit where the death occurred.
The death from natural causes, which brings to ten the total number of "natural" deaths in Poggioreale up to July 31 of this year, refocuses the spotlight on healthcare and, above all, the environmental context in which inmates live.
The Numbers of Despair: Poggioreale and the National Crisis
Ciambriello painted a horrifying picture of overcrowding and hardship. Poggioreale currently houses 2.137 people, a number well beyond its regulatory capacity.
"Cells for six, seven, and ten people, bunk beds that prevent the windows from being opened, cramped spaces, and sanitary problems constitute inhuman and degrading treatment," the Guarantor denounced upon leaving.
The data provided by Ciambriello are an eloquent litmus test of a collapsing system:
2 completed suicides and 24 suicide attempts.
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196 acts of self-harm.
10 deaths from natural causes (including the latest) and 1 from causes yet to be ascertained.
The tragedy isn't just local. Nationally, the toll is terrifying: "To date, 182 deaths in prison have occurred in Italy, including 65 suicides (five in Campania)," Ciambriello said.
Faced with this massacre, the Guarantor did not spare criticism, defining the deaths and suicides as the "tragic consequence of foreseeable factors" and pointing the finger at institutional inertia.
"The policy that in the custody of the prisoner does not prevent the prisoner from dying loses its constitutional mandate," he forcefully stated. Donut, extending the call for action not only to the Government, but also to other key actors: Prosecutor's Offices, Supervisory Magistrates and Local Health Authorities.
The imperative, according to the Guarantor, is to "take responsibility for the vulnerabilities and denied dignity." Life in prison, he concluded, "must continue; prison must not be a black hole or a tragic fatality." Yet another death in Poggiorealeserves as a painful reminder that the prison emergency is an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Comments (3)
The data presented is alarming, but the complexity of the problem must also be considered. Justice must strike a balance between security and humanity.
I hope the authorities realize the gravity of the situation. Every death in prison should be a wake-up call for all of us and prompt us to seek practical solutions.
The situation in prison is truly worrying; so many deaths are unacceptable. Urgent action is needed to improve the living conditions of inmates, even if this is not easy to achieve.