Record-breaking suicides in Italian prisons

According to the Week, the announcement of the suicide death of a 21-year-old male prisoner this week marked a new turning point in Italy's prison crisis.

This prisoner's death marks the second suicide death in Italian prisons in the last month, bringing the total number of inmate deaths in Italy this year to 85, breaking the previous record of 84 suicide deaths in 2022.

According to a statement from a prison system official in Italy, overcrowding and a shortage of staff have made life nearly impossible for both inmates and staff.

According to the statement, the general state of affairs in prisons has long been out of control and is becoming worse every day, and seven prison guards have died this year.

Recent statistics from the Italian Ministry of Justice show that the country's prisons are experiencing a worsening crisis as a result of the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni enacting stricter laws and lengthening prison terms.

 The infamous Italian justice system is currently facing additional difficulties as a result of the strict judicial policies of the Meloni government; approximately 15% of prisoners in Italy have not yet been tried, and another 10% are awaiting the outcome of an appeal.

According to a recent AFP report on the crisis in the Italian prison system, among other issues, many of these facilities are in poor condition.

At the same time, a number of reports suggest that overcrowding in Italy's dilapidated prisons is contributing to the country's prison violence crisis, with many Italian inmates becoming victims of violence.

Notwithstanding these reports, experts claim that the current announcements only represent a small portion of the Italian prison system's crisis.

When describing the government's response to the prison crisis, an Italian human rights organization said, "These actions are like trying to repair a house that has structural problems and is about to collapse."