Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice (ICCJ) seminar series

'Exploring Alternatives to short prison sentences: the Italian experience in addressing Prison Overcrowding'

Dr Giulia Mentasti (Visiting Scholar, University of Milan “La Statale”)

In Italy, prison overcrowding has reached alarming levels, undermining the rights of detained persons, and calling into question the effectiveness and rehabilitative potential of prison sentences. Italy has already been twice condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for violating Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to overcrowded prison conditions (Sulejmanovic v. Italy, 2009; Torreggiani v. Italy, 2013). With the current overcrowding rate exceeding 130%, there is a pressing need to rethink the entire penal system, moving away from punitive populism and strengthening mechanisms that allow for serving short sentences outside of prison under certain conditions.

This seminar aims to explore the characteristics of the Italian sanctioning system and the impact of the recent Reform on the complex framework of “alternatives” to short prison sentences already present in the Italian legal system. Given that European experiences in probation have undoubtedly inspired this Reform, a comparative approach to these issues offers a valuable pathway for seeking solutions to a problem — prison overcrowding — that affects the lives of thousands of people and brings into question the same effectiveness of punishments.

Wednesday 5 February at 12:00pm in Board room 1 (MST.09.022)