Foreign Law: Amnesty Time in Italy

In the hodgepodge of ancient Roman, papal, fascist, and contemporary statutes that make up Italian law, the only thing certain is that there is no divorce. After that it's gangbusters. Everything is so tangled that it takes twelve to 18 months before a first hearing on any charge; a final judgment takes years. The clog in courthouse and jailhouse gets worse as each year gets older. Then, every so often, just before the jam-up becomes impossible to handle, the Italians resort to a sure cure: a general amnesty for all but the most dangerous offenders.

The last time around was 1963. Now the backlog has built up once again. What's more, June 2 is the 20th anniversary of the end of the monarchy—a proper time for celebration—and June 12 is the date for municipal elections. Members of Parliament, almost to a man, figure that if all the smalltime offenders get out in time to celebrate, they will remember ten days later when they vote. So Parliament is prepared to pass a bill that proclaims amnesty for first offenders who have committed offenses punishable, generally, by less than three years in prison. Excluded are those guilty of such evils as extortion, embezzlement, corruption of a public official, crimes of honor.

Still, an estimated 1,500,000 Italians will get a welcome break. Charges will be dropped against petty thieves, burglars, check bouncers, and scofflaws, who pile up parking tickets in anticipation of amnesty. Even tax evaders will escape jail sentences if they pay up. Because the amnesty only concerns crimes committed before the end of January 1966, it does not affect such accused bigamists as Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren. Since they have gone right on living together, it is presumed that they have persisted in their crime beyond the cutoff date. If Ponti and his pals find that less than pleasing, they are no angrier than the cops who have to go out and catch many of the freed offenders all over again. They also have to deal with a new crime wave every time an amnesty is even considered. To be sure, current offenders do not qualify for the amnesty, but they act as if they think they do. Evidently Italians who do not obey the law do not read it either.