Serving a sentence in Italy: Old and new challenges

Abstract

The Italian system of the enforcement of the sentences has been shaped, since the enter into force of the Italian Constitution in 1948, on the rehabilitation principle but the path towards a real implementation of this pivotal goal is still ongoing. Moreover, conditions like the ones strictly linked to permanent prison overcrowding and reduced economical resources for the implementation of prison and probation staff stand as elements that slow down the achievement of the expected outcomes. In this complicated framework, people that committed a crime can count on a well structured system of alternative measures that have been improved and reinforced during the last twenty years. Despite the ongoing efforts for a better application of such measures, there are still specific issues linked, above all, to the most vulnerable people (foreigners and persons at the margins of the society) that are in the position to experiment substantial discrimination in regard to their lack of the fundamental elements asked by the law for the application of an alternative sanctions. To overcome the many problems still unresolved, the Italian prison and probation system is attaching great importance to the role of restorative justice, as a useful tool for achieving constitutional objectives.