The Constitutional Court opens the way for one sentence reduction for Alfredo Cospitodropping the rule that would have bound the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin a necessarily sentence him to life imprisonment for the attack on Carabinieri school of Fossano. The Court, as it writes in its press release after the closed session, took a decision “in continuity with its numerous and compliant precedents” and therefore rejected as “constitutionally illegitimate” the article of the code “in the part in which it prohibits the judge from considering any extenuating circumstances as prevailing over the aggravating circumstance of recidivism in cases in which the offense is punished with the statutory penalty of life imprisonment”.
According to the Court, “the fixed nature of the life sentence requires that the judge be able to operate the ordinary balance between aggravating and mitigating circumstances provided for by the first three paragraphs of the same art. 69. Consequently, the judge will have to evaluate, case by case, whether to apply the sentence of life imprisonment or, where it deems the extenuating circumstances prevailing, a different prison sentence“.
After the many “no” received in recent months by the judiciary (and also by Minister Nordio) on the revocation of 41 bis and on the requests for deferral of the sentence and house arrest, Alfredo Cospito returns to hope. Now the possibility also opens up serve a less severe sentence, between 20 and 24 years, for the anarchist, who has been on hunger strike for 6 months. “We have finally learned some encouraging news for all those who are called to apply the law on a daily basis or suffer its application. Today’s decision of the Constitutional Court finally restores dignity to the legal issues underlying human affairs, not least that of Alfredo Cospito”. The defender of the anarchist affirms it Flavio Rossi Albertini.
“Refraining from attempts to politicize individual judicial cases, the judge of laws recognized the unconstitutionality of art. 69 paragraph IV in the part in which it does not provide for the possibility of the prevalence of extenuating circumstances on repeated recidivism for crimes for which the fixed penalty of life imprisonment is envisaged – continues the criminal lawyer -. As we had always affirmed since the hearing of last December 5 and reaffirmed today, the fixed sentence of life imprisonment is ex se suspected of being unconstitutional and the prohibition of balancing sharpens this judgement, preventing the judge of knowledge from individualizing the sentence for the fact committed by the defendant. The Court agreed with the reasoning of the defence. A great success for the law and for the judicial affair involuntary Alfredo Cospito”.
“He hasn’t eaten pasta, fish or meat for 180 days. We never thought that he would arrive alive on April 18 – the lawyer said in the morning – But he lost the ability to walk, he no longer moves a foot and has lost 50 kilos in weight ”.
While Patrick Gonellapresident of Antigone, underlines: “With today’s ruling, the Consulta definitively establishes that the penalty must correspond to the seriousness of the offence. It is not possible to treat in the same way cases in which there are deaths and cases in which, on the other hand, there were not even injuries. Step by step the ex Cirielli law, which was a legal opprobrium in obvious conflict with article 27, was demolished. We hope that the re-determination of the sentence, at this consequent point, will also lead the Minister of Justice Nordio to a re-evaluation relating to the 41-bis regime in which Cospito is currently detained”.