Peschiera Prison Closure Sparks Controversy and Family Struggles

“My dear, they’ve turned my life inside out like a sock. There’s nothing here that resembles the Peschiera prison. It’s been the fourth day I find myself in a state of confusion. I share the room with three other inmates; just imagine it’s as big as our bedroom. There are no windows, only a ‘howling mouth’, and the heat is unbearable. I sleep on a broken cot and a straw mattress. Visits are not permitted on Saturdays or Sundays. If things don’t change quickly, I will opt for a civilian prison. If before I felt far from all of you, now I feel dead.” This is the letter, dated June 25, sent to his family by a former police officer transferred from the military prison of Peschiera to the facility of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, near Caserta; it was published in the latest issue of the weekly magazine “Famiglia Cristiana” at the beginning of a report on the closure of the Peschiera prison, which is now back in the national headlines.

Details on the closure measure and reactions

The magazine explains that the measure was officially motivated by the need to save expenses incurred for both the maintenance of the barracks and the personnel involved; this reason has been contested, among others, by the Coisp police union, which emphasizes that no one has mentioned the costs of transferring inmates to the North for court hearings. However, the decision seems to weigh especially on the family relationships of the inmates transferred from Peschiera to Santa Maria Capua Vetere: 800 kilometers apart, which weigh more than a heavy burden—both financially and in terms of effort—on the families, who are thus forced to drastically reduce visits with their relatives.

Reactions and implications

“A matter of conscience,” Beppe Prioli, founder of the Fraternità association and a volunteer inside the Verona prison, had called it several times; and for this conscience, Beppe had gone to speak with the Minister of Defense Sergio Mattarella. All in vain—the decision was evidently already made; now, inmates with residence and family in the North will have to face a new chapter in their already difficult stories.