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.
Sadly for you the statistic show increasing punishment does not actually work to prevent them from committing these crimes. It can work for some crimes, but not this kind, and also only up to a certain point.
Sadly this needs to be spelt out to you, but if we’re spending resources on something we should make an attempt to use it as efficiently as possible. We have studies that show the efficacy of different types and degrees of punishment, as well as rehabilitation methods. Rehabilitation can get some people (not all) to become contributing members of society, where they’ll actually be a benefit instead of a cost.