Those who commit minor crimes and get tested, will now be able to face the recovery path (and avoid conviction in the event of a positive outcome) by carrying out public utility works, free of charge, within the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum. (in the province of Naples).
It is the novelty of an agreement stipulated between the Court of Naples, the interdistrict office of external criminal execution for Campania and the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum. A novelty that on the one hand underlines the new judicial policy aimed at strengthening the re-educational function of the sentence (which finds its recognition in Article 27 of the Constitution but which for too many years has been effectively marginalized) and which, on the other, expresses a strong symbolic value: the agreement is celebrated in a territory that for decades has been hostage to organized crime, caught in the grip of the interests (and the feud) of the Ascione and Birra clans, and which several years ago was freed thanks to the extraordinary commitment of the judiciary and the police, thus managing – also through administrative action – to build a new history under the banner of legality. The president of the Court of Naples Elisabetta Garzo underlined the double importance of the convention: “I think that the institution of the trial, especially the carrying out in this locality, is a moment of importance and redemption for those who unfortunately have had the misfortune of falling into the mesh of justice. May this be the starting moment for the continuation of a path that will lead to enhancing the beauty of our territory. Art and justice must walk together, but above all I believe that the project will be of help to those who deserve to redeem themselves from mistakes in order to be able to live in the future a dignified existence that respects all constitutional norms ».
Specifically, the activities that can be provided in support of those carried out by the staff are the reception of visitors, help to those suffering from motor and sensory disabilities, the care and maintenance of green areas, enhancement projects, inclusion of the local community, cleaning of the archaeological area.
The moment of signing, which falls on the anniversary of Paolo Borsellino’s death, was preceded by a meeting attended by the Head of Cabinet of the Minister of Justice Raffaele Piccirillo, the Head of the Department of Juvenile Justice and Gemma Community Tuccillo, the Director General for External Criminal Execution and Testing Lucia Castellano, the President of the Court of Naples Elisabetta Garzo, the Regent Director of the Interdistrict Office of External Criminal Execution for Campania Claudia Nannola. Also present were the Directors of the Offices of the provincial offices, the Penitentiary Police and the Social Service Officers who will accompany the implementation of community measures and the mayor of Ercolano Ciro Buonajuto (of Italia Viva). «The Archaeological Park of Herculaneum wants to add its contribution to the process of transformation of Herculaneum from a city known only from crime news to a place of civil resistance and solidarity opportunities for reintegration under the banner of the cultural values that emanate from the history of this site. In the belief that reintegration into society represents not only an opportunity for recovery and repair – explained the director of the Sirano excavations – but also for the opening of renewed life paths, this convention seeks to combine Justice in all its forms and capacities with the within a vision of a welcoming community in which citizens in the penal area will know how to commit themselves but from which they will also be transformed “. In the same vein, Gemma Tuccillo, head of the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice: “The fact that this protocol has been stipulated here and that it will act as a driving force for many other similar protocols in as many sites, I think is a further reason for satisfaction and pride. Those who have violated the law are required to engage in active behavior, socially of public utility, but above all that represents a commitment to a value, in this case an archaeological value. It is an entry, on the part of those who have violated the criminal law, in that spirit of active citizenship which, even in those who do not commit crime, is never sufficiently developed ». Raffaele Piccirillo, head of the cabinet of the Minister of Justice, added: “The task of the Archaeological Park is to create an integration between ancient and modern city and it seems to me that this is symbolic of the need to restore an integration between the world of ‘respectable’ citizens. and the excluded, those who have done wrong. Involving them in this project is the sign of that mending process which is the profound meaning of the suspension of the procedure with the test ».
The mayor of Herculaneum, Ciro Buonajuto, was also satisfied: «We rely on our history and our beauty to overcome discomfort. Art and justice can walk together to promote alternative penalties to detention and therefore guarantee the reintegration into society of those who commit crimes ». The mayor then recalls that “the signing of the protocol is part of the many actions implemented in Herculaneum in recent years to support and promote culture, tourism and legality. We are starting a beautiful journey and I am sure it will represent a driving force for similar projects to be implemented in other realities. A result achieved thanks to the work and determination of the director of the Park, Francesco Sirano, to whom my thanks and that of the city go for having wanted to favor more and more integration between the modern city and the ancient city ».