“One might think of me who knows what, given the reason why I am in prison, but I am not a ‘monster’, as they have always described me. Today’s Luca is a man who may make less news than the ‘Wolf’, but who still exists, exists, is doing his utmost to pay off the debt he owes to civil society and is committed to his challenge ». Luca Traini, who on 3 February 2018, in a car through the streets of Macerata, shot six foreigners to “avenge” the murder of Pamela Mastropietro, which took place a few days earlier by the Nigerian Innocent Oseghale, speaks for the first time from prison of Montacuto, in Ancona.
He does so exclusively to beraking latest news with a thirteen-page handwritten letter in block capitals (“a script – he says – that suffers from psychological and physical fatigue”). “I have been in prison for almost four years now and I would like the world to understand that I am doing my best to pay off the debt I have with civil society – he continues – Explain what is, how is prison to those who have never had the ‘nice’ to be there, it is not easy. The conditions in which prisons in Italy find themselves are those widely denounced by the Radicals and by the penitentiary police unions and for which we, the Italian State, have suffered fines and reprimands from the European Community. In this context, in this objective state of things, I nevertheless found great humanity both on the part of the prison officers and on the part of the prisoners themselves “.
And he adds: «Clearly my crime at the beginning was hateful to a large part of the prison population, the one who is serving sentences for drug offenses. Over time, the seriousness and fairness with which I am dealing with detention has made me acquire respect from everyone. As for myself, I have never denied the gravity of my gesture and I accepted the consequences right away, right from the start, when it was I who went back and, going to the war memorial in Macerata, handed myself over to the carabinieri. “.
Luca then treads his hand on the sheet, the black stroke becomes more decisive when he says that “a certain ideology that I had and that I manifested in a folkloristic way, was nothing more than a fictitious (virtual) image that I had created for myself. shield, as a contrast with the ugliness of the world – he continues referring to the ideas that had led him to arm himself against people chosen at random, only for the color of the skin equal to that of the murderer of the 18-year-old Roman – The same for the physique: al my entry into prison, in 2018, I weighed 132 kg of muscle. A colossus developed over years in the gym, to escape school bullying immediately because I was fat. the disappointments of life. Now I have changed a lot. I prefer an athletic body, not to appear. And perhaps the evolution of my soul has also made my body evolve. “
Sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment, without discounts or extenuating circumstances, Luca tells beraking latest news: “Here in prison I do a little gym, a little sport and independently, as a self-taught person, I do yoga and Buddhist meditation, which combines it with Christian prayer. My daily hobbies, besides gymnastics, are reading, listening to rock, soul and jazz music. Then I write a lot of letters, I read books of all kinds and I take care of my room, such as cleaning, washing clothes, sometimes cooking, as an alternative to the food they bring me from home. All this when I’m off work. For more than a year, in fact, I have been a warehouse assistant in the Montacuto prison, a job of responsibility and trust that the prison government has entrusted to me. You are in contact with everyone, both inmates and pinned, and in any case I am in a section with inmates of all ethnicities, Italians, Pakistanis, Albanians, Africans, and I have never had problems or created them. I’ve never had disciplinary relationships in four years. I follow the courses, the reintegration activities, I do my best to make it clear that in 32 years I have always worked and followed the rules ».
And then it goes back, once again, to that February 3 4 years ago: «Once I exploded. Only once (seriously) did my mind pull the plug. Now, what has been has helped me to understand where I was wrong in my life. Thank God there were no more serious consequences than the shooting itself and the wounded boys already were. «Paradoxically, when I was free, I had no long-term plans – writes Luca Traini – I took everything for granted. I needed to lose my freedom, to be able to appreciate more its value as a recluse, to appreciate the true value of the family, which I previously felt distant and sometimes useless in the chaos of the daily whirlwind. But since that February 3 four years ago my family has never abandoned me, neither materially, bringing me food and money for shopping, nor emotionally. They understood the error the gravity of my gesture, but at the same time they understood that at that time of my life I was not well off my head. By chance he didn’t become a real murderer, nobody died, everything can be solved ».
“I rarely think of the world out there with eyes of change, I have my idea of what it will be like in a few years, however I will never give up my desire for the future, the desire to grow individually as a good man and a good citizen, build a destiny, work hard, find a good girl and start a family – he confides to beraking latest news – in short, live in peace. If the system gives me the means and the confidence to get out of here, I will do my best to be a better man than I have been until now. Prison has brought me to a high, very high level of general awareness and inner human and intellectual maturation. No kidding. I think I am a living example of the exception that confirms the rule: prison rarely rehabilitates, if one does not want to, but if one wants it, as in my case, one can take the right path. I do it both for myself, to take back my life, and for the people who love me, family, friends, people who believe in me “.
‘”On the short journey I want to graduate in prison, I started studying, but then due to Covid I had to stop – concludes Traini – Maybe work in semi-release, on probation. We’ll see, I’ll do my best. From up there, my dear mother and little Pamela guide and protect me ». Because Luca Traini in the letter does not struggle to admit: «Yes, I dreamed of Pamela many times, especially at the beginning. I dreamed of it wrapped in a lot of light. It gave off a human warmth of a friend I’ve known for a long time, although I didn’t know her outside. I always pray to you, I pray that you will find peace. I will follow the Oseghale Cassation in January 2022 with great attention and with great attention. I will hope for the work of justice. God will light the way. Probably, when I go out, I will go to see poor Pamela at Verano, just as I will go to see my mother ».