Benevento – A 37-year-old man took his own life in prison: the regional ombudsman for prisoners, Samuele Ciambriello, is raising the alarm.
Last night, yet another tragedy occurred in the Benevento prison. A young man of just 37, the father of a young girl, took his own life in his cell. There are no words to express the pain and outrage at yet another death foretold. When a 37-year-old decides to end his life while in the custody and responsibility of the state, we have all failed.
In Campania, 5 suicides since the beginning of the year, 94 deaths in Italy.
The Campania Regional Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Subject to Restrictive Measures (DRS) is raising the alarm following the fifth suicide recorded in Campania's prisons. This is part of an increasingly dramatic national toll, with 45 people having taken their own lives in prison since the beginning of the year, as confirmed by monitoring data from the "Dying in Prison" dossier promoted by Ristretti Orizzonti.
Over 94 deaths in total, including suicides, illnesses, natural causes, and deaths still under investigation. "The Benevento prison, like other facilities in our region, suffers from overcrowding, a shortage of social and healthcare staff, and a lack of educators and ongoing psychological and psychiatric support. Behind the numbers are faces, stories, and vulnerabilities that are routinely crushed by a system that has lost all re-educational and resocialization functions, transforming punishment into blind desperation," Ciambriello continues.
"I once again urgently call on the Ministry of Justice and the Penitentiary Administration to take concrete and immediate action: we need alternatives to detention for short-term sentences, an extraordinary strengthening of prison healthcare, and professionals capable of intercepting hardship before it turns into tragedy. People cannot and must not die in prison," concludes the Guarantor.
What to know about prison suicides
Here are some key points regarding the suicide situation in Italian prisons, with particular reference to the case of Benevento.
- Recent statistics: In 2023, there were 45 prison suicides in Italy, 5 of which were in Campania.
- Prison conditions: Overcrowding and a shortage of social and health care staff are serious problems in prisons.
- Requests from the Guarantor: The Guarantor called for alternative measures to detention and for improved prison healthcare.
- Human impact: Every suicide represents a personal and social tragedy, highlighting the fragility of the penitentiary system.
