Prison suicides: all the numbers from the Prison Ombudsman's warning, ignored by Minister Nordio.

Over 140 deaths in prison since the beginning of this year: 46 suicides (31.5%), 30 deaths from undetermined causes (20.5%), 69 from natural causes (47.3%), and one from accidental causes (0.7%). These are the figures—recorded by the Department of Penal Administration (DAP) and updated to July 31—contained in the latest report from the National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. Minister Nordio responded to the report by saying the data are good and not cause for alarm . He advised the Guarantor not to exaggerate the concerns and avoid creating confusion.

The Guarantor, however, speaks of a " worrying situation: 294 total suicides in four years represent an annual average of 73.5 cases. The variation between the low of 2021 (59 cases) and the peak of 2022 (84 cases) indicates a 42% increase in the space of a year, presumably followed by a stabilization or slight reduction in subsequent years." According to the Guarantor, "the country urgently needs to work to make the execution of sentences not only efficient and effective in terms of prevention, but also, and not secondarily, compatible with its constitutional foundation, based on the principles of humanity, re-education, and the 'last resort' of detention. On the other hand, without a significant reduction in the number of prisoners and serious investment in external penal enforcement and related forms of social assistance, the already unsustainable situation will only worsen."

Of the 46 people who died by suicide in prison this year , 44 were men and 2 women. Regarding their nationality, 24 were Italian and 22 foreigners (from 7 different countries). " Although foreigners represent only 31.56% of the prison population, they are involved in approximately 47.8% of suicides. This proportional gap ," the report states, " suggests a significantly higher suicide risk among foreign inmates." The average age of those who committed suicide is approximately 42: an "alarming" figure is that of the 22 inmates under the age of 39. Analyzing the legal position, 24 had been definitively judged and sentenced, while 17 were awaiting their first trial. This last figure is particularly significant – the report states – "as it highlights the 'psychological fragility' that can accompany a first prison experience, especially in individuals for whom the 'presumption of innocence' still applies." Furthermore, 16 suicides were recorded among prisoners with definitive or mixed sentences, which occurred near the end of their sentences, with less than 3 years remaining in their sentences.

The study reveals a complex picture, in which several variables appear to be intertwined: youth and the impact of detention, awaiting a first trial, and social vulnerability (unemployment, homelessness, and foreigners). Approaching the end of a sentence and overcrowding are critical factors. The common thread linking all risk factors for suicide is uncertainty and a loss of hope for the future, which leads to an inability to tolerate unbearable and tormenting mental pain that excludes any other option than death, the Guarantor notes. In 2025, 37 institutions experienced suicides (approximately 20% of all prisons): 32 prisons, four detention centers, and one workhouse. "The concentration in prisons is particularly significant, considering that these facilities primarily house: people awaiting trial, people sentenced to short sentences, and people in a phase of particular psychological vulnerability. The fact that 20% of institutions recorded at least one suicide in 2025 indicates a systemic problem that requires urgent and targeted interventions," the report emphasizes. An analysis of the geographic distribution of the 46 suicides also reveals a " significant concentration " in certain areas of the country: the affected regions are Lombardy (10 cases), Lazio (5 cases), Campania and Sicily (4 cases), Sardinia and Tuscany (3 cases), Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont, Puglia and Veneto (2 cases), Basilicata, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Molise and Umbria (1 case).

According to the Guarantor, " great attention " must also be paid to the numerous self-harm incidents: as of July 31, their number is equal to 7,486, of which only 693 (approximately 9.3%) were registered in Milan's San Vittore prison, an institution with an overcrowding index of 216.98. Not to be underestimated, the report states, are the critical events relating to protests, " such as hunger and thirst strikes, which could cause serious problems for the state of health of the inmate" : as of July 31, the events registered by the Dap are 3,500. Finally, analyzing the numbers relating to deaths from natural causes—70 from the beginning of the year to August 8—the Guarantor observes that the data highlight "a structural health crisis in the Italian penitentiary system, with particular severity for elderly and young adult inmates, institutions in southern Italy and large urban centers, and those close to release. This suggests the need for urgent reforms in the penitentiary healthcare system and the implementation of alternatives to detention for people in poor health . Urgent systemic intervention is needed to address the structural causes of this avoidable mortality, guaranteeing the constitutional right to health also in the penitentiary sector."

FROM

Web Editorial Staff