Italy: The Right to Communicate With the Outside World: Between the "Opening" of Prisons and the Protection of Society (From Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International Perspectives on Prisoners' Rights and Prison Conditions, P 357-382, 1991, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Frieder Dunkel, eds. -- See NCJ-

• NCJ Number: 133834
• Author(s): F Giunta
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Italy's prison system has undergone major changes in recent years, and a major current issue is the need to reconcile the function of protecting society with the growing sensitivity to prisoners' rights, particularly the rights regarding communication and contact with people outside the prison.

Abstract

Although imprisonment is a commonly used sanction, it is no longer considered the main one. Instead, corrections policy recognizes the desirability of alternatives to institutionalization except in cases involving serious crimes and when it is clear that other sentences would be ineffective. Beginning with the Prison Act of 1975 and continuing with the law enacted in 1986, law reforms have encouraged greater contact with the outside world through furloughs, greater use of parole, more types of communication during visits, and recognition of the rights to information. However, the degree to which these rights exist in practice is affected by the discretion left to corrections managers and other factors. 54 references