The murders sparked protests in Messina, Rome and other Italian cities, including Bologna, on Wednesday night. Further events are planned on Thursday.
In March, Giorgia Meloni’s government approved a draft law which for the first time introduced a legal definition of femicide in criminal law, punishing it with life in prison while increasing sentences for crimes including stalking, sexual violence and “revenge porn”.
The law followed the strong public reaction to the killing of Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old student who was murdered by her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, in November 2023. Turetta was sentenced to life in prison in December.
Extreme punitive measures from the police and carceral organs of the state will not solve misogynistic violence. I’m glad people are fired up about the problem but this is the wrong approach. It’s been tried 1000 times for other things and it never works.
But it works well for public opinion, which is what politicians care about most, unfortunately
Italy probably has a different culture. Maybe it will work there, or they’ll learn the hard way.
But it will take the people who commit violence against women off the street. There are times when prison is not about rehabilitation its simply about removing danger.
Isolation is the one part of the carceral system that does have some effect, but I don’t think it’s the best way to achieve even that part.
I guess I don’t know the previous situation in Italy with regards to this issue. Was there a large number of people getting caught for these offenses and then released? Because killing someone and locking them up for 20 years is basically just as good from the perspective of separating victim and predator. It would be better to focus on consistent investigation and capture than on harsher penalties.
Or on programs that work to prevent violence in the first place. But we would only pursue those if we cared more about helping potential victims than about hurting offenders. That doesn’t seem to be the priority for most people.
They’re not looking to prevent violence they’re looking to isolate violence.
Prison has never and will never be a deterrence