North African Inmate Saved from Suicide Attempt in Benevento Prison

A thirty-year-old North African inmate who was hanging himself was saved in extremis by the prison police in the Benevento prison: the man had fashioned a noose out of his sheets and after tying it to the window bars, he hanged himself. Fortunately, the officers noticed and rescued him, taking him to the hospital. The unionist Luigi Castaldo, regional secretary of Campania Con.si.pe (Confederation of Unions), congratulates "the scant prison police staff present who, despite the multiple workloads, managed to save a life: just a few more seconds and we would now be talking about the 30th suicide in Italian prisons since the beginning of the year." For Castaldo, in prisons, it is becoming increasingly important to have the support of suitable professional figures, "such as educators, psychologists, and psychiatrists, hope for recovery to a better life must be given. Often the great humanity of the prison police personnel is not enough to prevent extreme acts like today's." For the deputy regional secretary of Con.si.pe Campania, Tommaso De Lia, "the serious organizational problems at Capodimonte call into question the treatment and re-education, more human and instrumental resources are needed, and therefore on March 8th we will be in front of the prison to demonstrate to ask for more attention to the Sannio penitentiary."