Guarantor, '54-year-old inmate commits suicide in Poggioreale prison in Naples'

A 54-year-old prisoner, Massimo, took his own life yesterday in the Naples-Poggioreale prison: this was announced by Samuele Ciambriello, guarantor of people subjected to measures restricting personal freedom in the Campania Region, in a note.

This is the sixth suicide recorded since the beginning of the year in Campania's penal institutions, 59 in total in Italy in addition to another 145 deaths from other causes.

"Behind these extreme gestures - we read in the guarantor's note - there are almost always stories of profound loneliness, marked by drug addiction, serious family fragility and relational suffering. Conditions of vulnerability which too often are not listened to on the outside and which end up exploding once one crosses the threshold of prison".

"To stop this dramatic trail of deaths - underlines Ciambriello - it is essential to implement different responses, acting with determination both inside and outside the penitentiary walls. It is necessary to intercept the discomfort and take care of vulnerable people before they enter prison. The only alternative measures to detention, however fundamental, are not sufficient if not accompanied by a solid and effective reception and support system".