The Wall Street Journal has a shocking article about the state of the justice system in Italy. In America, some commentators remark on the “contradiction” of falling crime rates “despite” more criminals being in prison. In Italy, they tried the opposite strategy, and obtained the opposite result:
Less than two years ago, Italy’s prison system faced a crisis: Built to hold 43,000 inmates, it was straining to contain more than 60,000.
So the government crafted an emergency plan. It swung open the prison doors and let more than a third of the inmates go free.
Within months, bank robberies jumped by 20%. Kidnappings and fraud also rose, as did computer crime, arson and purse-snatchings. The prison population, however, fell so much that for awhile Italy had more prison guards than prisoners to guard.
Many crimes are essentially unenforced:
Italy’s 2006 prisoner pardon — which so far has allowed 27,000 inmates to go free — worked something like a discount coupon. It lopped three years off every prison sentence, except ones for terrorism, Mafia-related crimes and a few others. A previous law already allowed anyone serving less than three years to perform community service instead of going to jail. So now, just about anyone sentenced to six years in jail doesn’t have to serve a day. . . “Someone who commits bribery, insider trading, tax evasion, false bookkeeping, what have you, is pretty much guaranteed to go free,” says Bruno Tinti, a prosecutor in Turin.
One reason this state of affairs can endure is it is fully exploited by the ruling class:
[Prime Minister] Berlusconi, who is also one of Italy’s richest men, was convicted in two of the cases brought against him, but the charges were all eventually overturned on appeal or tossed out because the statute of limitations had expired. . .
The system has been a boon for other politicians here as well. More than 20 of the 945 elected members of Parliament have been convicted of crimes including associating with organized crime and committing acts of terrorism.
Former Sicily governor Salvatore Cuffaro, for example, was recently convicted of aiding and abetting a known Mafioso. Mr. Cuffaro, whose case is on appeal, is expected to be elected to the Senate this month.
Plus: terrorists released on furlough, mafiosos too fat for prison, and a strategy for killing your wife.
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