Italian prisoners to get sentences reduced for reading
In Italy new legalisation is on the way that will see inmates earn a maximum of 48 days off a year for reading books.
The prisoners will earn the right to have three days removed from their sentences for every book they get through.
The scheme is being piloted in the southern region of Calabria and it is hoped, that if the proposal is a success, it will come into effect nationally.
There are some rules however, the books must be at least 400 pages and comic or picture books don’t count.
Italy, like most European countries, has a problem with overcrowding in jails with over 80,000 people incarcerated and it’s anticipated the programme will help to release the pressure on the prison service.
Mario Caligiuri Calabria's culture representative expects the scheme to be a success:
“We hope that the government will recognise this initiative, see how well it works and introduce it nationally.
“The idea is to allow crowded prisons some breathing space. We are confident of promising results. The books permitted will be carefully chosen and comic books or ones with a lot of pictures will be excluded”, he told the Daily Mail.
We wonder if this is something that could work in Ireland?
