Libertà condizionata
Encyclopedia
Article 176 of the Italian Criminal Code concerns libertà condizionata (English: conditional release, or parole
.)
According to the provisions of Article 176, an incarcerated person becomes eligible for a grant of libertà condizionata if he or she satisfies at least the following conditions:
(1) The prisoner has spent more than thirty months in confinement
, or in the case of someone subject to a life sentence, at least 26 years;
(2) The prisoner has served more than half of their sentence, or if the inmate has served another sentence for another crime in the past, he has served three-quarters of that sentence;
(3) The prisoner has less than five years remaining on a sentence between 7½ years and life.
Once eligible for consideration, a prisoner must also be certified, based on his conduct in prison, as unlikely to commit another crime; otherwise, libertà condizionata need not be granted.
In addition, the tribunale di sorveglianza (English: surveillance court) may impose conditions on the ex-convict's release. Typical conditions are that he must be at home during night-time hours or live in a certain municipality (Italian: comune
) and not leave without explicit court permission.
If someone released under libertà condizionata commits a crime, he will be remanded to custody and serve the full term of the original sentence, in addition to any new penalty. Also, if he violates the conditions imposed by the tribunale di sorveglianza, he may be returned to prison. A person who behaves satisfactorily under libertà condizionata for a period of five years is considered to have paid his debt to society.
A person sentenced for a crime related to the mafia
or terrorism
is ineligible for libertà condizionata unless he cooperates with the authorities, but some critics argue that it's hard to know what evidence might support the assertion that ties of this sort have, in fact, been broken. Becoming a pentito
and giving substantial help to the authorities is generally considered to be sufficient evidence of a change of heart.
Of the approximately fifty thousand inmates in Italian prisons, only twenty-one were granted libertà condizionata in 2006. It is much more common to be allowed to work outside the prison during the day (semilibertà, i.e. semi-freedom).
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
.)
According to the provisions of Article 176, an incarcerated person becomes eligible for a grant of libertà condizionata if he or she satisfies at least the following conditions:
(1) The prisoner has spent more than thirty months in confinement
Confinement
Confinement may refer to either* Civil confinement for psychiatric patients* Color confinement, the physical principle explaining the non-observation of color charged particles like free quarks* Solitary confinement, a strict form of imprisonment...
, or in the case of someone subject to a life sentence, at least 26 years;
(2) The prisoner has served more than half of their sentence, or if the inmate has served another sentence for another crime in the past, he has served three-quarters of that sentence;
(3) The prisoner has less than five years remaining on a sentence between 7½ years and life.
Once eligible for consideration, a prisoner must also be certified, based on his conduct in prison, as unlikely to commit another crime; otherwise, libertà condizionata need not be granted.
In addition, the tribunale di sorveglianza (English: surveillance court) may impose conditions on the ex-convict's release. Typical conditions are that he must be at home during night-time hours or live in a certain municipality (Italian: comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
) and not leave without explicit court permission.
If someone released under libertà condizionata commits a crime, he will be remanded to custody and serve the full term of the original sentence, in addition to any new penalty. Also, if he violates the conditions imposed by the tribunale di sorveglianza, he may be returned to prison. A person who behaves satisfactorily under libertà condizionata for a period of five years is considered to have paid his debt to society.
A person sentenced for a crime related to the mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
or terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
is ineligible for libertà condizionata unless he cooperates with the authorities, but some critics argue that it's hard to know what evidence might support the assertion that ties of this sort have, in fact, been broken. Becoming a pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
and giving substantial help to the authorities is generally considered to be sufficient evidence of a change of heart.
Of the approximately fifty thousand inmates in Italian prisons, only twenty-one were granted libertà condizionata in 2006. It is much more common to be allowed to work outside the prison during the day (semilibertà, i.e. semi-freedom).