Libertà condizionata

Article 176 of the Italian Penal Code concerns libertà condizionata (English: conditional release, or parole.)

According to the provisions of Article 176, an incarcerated person becomes eligible for a grant of "libertà condizionata" if he or she satisfies at least the following conditions:

(1) The prisoner has spent more than thirty months in confinement or, in the case of someone subject to a life sentence, at least 26 years;

(2) The prisoner has served more than half of his sentence, or, if the inmate has served another sentence for another crime in the past, he has served three-quarters of his sentence;

(3) The prisoner has less than five years remaining on a sentence between seven-and-one-half years and life.

Once eligible for consideration, a prisoner must also be certified, based on his conduct in prison, as unlikely to commit another crime; otherwise, "libertà condizionata" need not be granted. In addition, the tribunale di sorveglianza (English: "surveillance court") may impose conditions on the ex-convict's release. Typical conditions are that he must be at home during night-time hours or live in a certain town or village (Italian: comune) and not leave without explicit court permission.

If someone released under "libertà condizionata" commits a crime, he will be remanded to custody and serve the full term of the original sentence (as well as any new penalty). Also, if he violates the conditions imposed by the "tribunale di sorveglianza", he may be returned to prison. A person who behaves satisfactorily under "libertà condizionata" for a period of five years is considered to have paid his debt to society.

A person sentenced for a crime related to the mafia or terrorism is ineligible for "libertà condizionata" unless he "breaks his ties to crime organizations", but some argue that it's hard to know what evidence might support the assertion that ties of this sort have, in fact, been broken; becoming a pentito and giving substantial help to authorities is generally considered an evidence of such.

Of the approximately 50,000 inmates in Italian prisons, only twenty-one have been granted "libertà condizionata" in 2006

References

http://www.giustizia.it/statistiche/statistiche_dog/2006/agpenale/nazionalepen.xls