Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said the long-running Garlasco murder case highlighted flaws in Italy’s legal system. Alberto Stasi was convicted at a third trial despite previously being acquitted twice and with no new evidence presented. Prosecutors are considering that a new suspect stand trial.
Speaking on Wednesday at the sidelines of a conference, Nordio questioned how Stasi could have been convicted “beyond any reasonable doubt” after both an Assize Court and an Appeal Court had cleared him of the murder of Chiara Poggi.
“If a person can only be convicted beyond any reasonable doubt, how could one be convicted when they’ve already been acquitted twice by an Assize Court and a Court of Appeal?” Nordio said.
“This paradoxical situation arises from legislation that should be changed, under which a person acquitted in the first instance and acquitted in the second instance can, without the introduction of new evidence, then be convicted.”
The murder of 26-year-old economics graduate Chiara Poggi in the town of Garlasco, near Pavia, remains one of Italy’s most closely followed criminal cases.
Poggi was found dead at her home in August 2007.
Alberto Stasi was initially acquitted twice before Italy’s Court of Cassation ordered a new appeal trial. In 2015, he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is now nearing the end of that sentence.
Sempio is the new suspect in Garlasco case
The case returned to national attention after prosecutors in Pavia reopened investigations focusing on Andrea Sempio, a friend of Poggi’s brother. As previously reported by Italy News Online, prosecutors now believe Sempio may have been responsible for the killing and are reportedly preparing to request that he stand trial.
The renewed investigation has centred on DNA analysis and previously overlooked evidence connected to Sempio, who has denied wrongdoing. Nordio’s comments are likely to reignite debate over Italy’s appeals system and the possibility of convictions being overturned after multiple acquittals without fresh evidence being introduced.
