Police, drugs and the law in Italy

In Italy, after the clamor of the case of Stefano Cucchi (a boy who was imprisoned because of drug possession, who died in custody), many similar cases have putted under the , thanks to victims' familiars and friends. They all died in prison; some through violences, some suicides. There are a lot of gaps in institutions' records of this events. Many of the victims were people awaiting trial on remand, and their guilty unproved. The common traits in these cases is drugs and the similarities of their personal stories: regular people, with jobs, not really “professional” criminals.

Here are three examples:

It was so for Stefano Frapporti, arrested while he was riding a bike. A police patrol stopped him because he committed a minor offense. Afterwards, they went to his home and found marijuana, a little bit less than 100 grams. They took him to police station, writing on their report he was selling drugs. The same night he hung himself in his cell. He was 48, a builder with no criminal record, only once fined a motoring offense.

One night Alberto Mercuriali was with his friends in a park smoking a joint. Some undercover police found them, they drove Alberto to his house. It was late and Alberto did not want to wake his parents so he surrendered all his hashish to the police. The officers in return guaranteed his anonymity. However the next day the episode featured in many local news papers, exaggerating the case. His name wasn't mentioned, but particular information about him was: 28 male from Castrocaro Terme (town's name),  with a degree in agronomy ... Humiliated by the media publicity, he committed suicide by suffocating himself in his car.

Aldo Bianzino who was a  carpenter, unfortunate episode began with a unexpected police raid  on his cottage in Pietralunga. In the garden, they found several cannabis plants which Bianzino said he had planted for personal use. He and his partner were arrested ans taken to the police station. Two days later he was dead, before he even had a chance to put his case before a judge. At the autopsy, the corpse revealed internal bleeding which was the cause of death. Both Branzino's partner and her mother subsequently died from illness and a broken heart, leaving a teenage son alone. His uncle had to quit his job in Germany and move to Italy to look after him.

These incidents highlight Italy's inefficient legislation (Fini-Giovanardi's Bill) around drugs. In Italy, if you are arrested with a relatively small amount of drugs you can be charged drug dealing. There are still no solid definition of drug dealers and personal use. The police persecute peaceful and and happy families purely because they use drugs. This can destroy people's lives, like they did to Bianzino's family. This represents a wanton and useless justice system.

To protest against this policy failure please join this Facebook group (Italian)