The orphan crisis of World War One and the Italian judiciary

The Gallows and Life Imprisonment from Liberal Italy to Fascism This paper analyzes the problematic relationship between the death penalty and life imprisonment. It starts off with some indispensable references to the thought of Beccaria, as well as to some criminal legislation in force in the late 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century. The essay then examines the main steps in the long and troubled path that led to the enactment of a national penal code in 1889 and to the replacement of capital punishment with life imprisonment. In order to accomplish this goal, which had been hindered by many, lawmakers had to make the punishment as intimidating as possible and guarantee the offender’s removal from society, as such offenders were presumed to be incorrigible. Many people exalted the reform as a great victory, but others criticized it for the heavy ways in which the punishment was executed. In the Fascist period, the individualistic ideology of the liberal era was replaced by an authoritarian conception that placed the purposes and interests of the State before those of individuals. This meant that the interests of citizens and even their very lives could be sacrificed for the preservation and defense of the State. On the basis of these assumptions, the attacks against the prime minister provided the opportunity to reintroduce capital punishment, at first with the 1926 law, and then firmly with the Rocco Code; life imprisonment, however, was mitigated.