Incredibly, the Court of Cassation has overturned the life term sentence of a man convicted of femicide as it didn’t take into account the attenuating circumstances of COVID period. Lorena Quaranta was strangled to death in March 2020.
A decision by the supreme Court of Cassation to annul the life term of a man convicted of killing his girlfriend during the early stages of the COVID-19 health emergency has caused bemusement across the Italian political spectrum. The court said the sentence did not properly account for the attenuating circumstances related to the pandemic
The case regards the murder of Lorena Quaranta, a medical student from Favara, Agrigento, in March 2020.
Her boyfriend, Calabrian nurse Antonio De Pace, confessed to strangling her in a small villa in Furci Siculo, Messina.
In an explanation of its decision, the supreme court said the judges who gave the life term “did not examine whether the specific nature of the situation, the COVID period and the difficulty in remedying it, constituted factors affecting the extent of criminal liability”.
As a result, the supreme court sent the case back for the sentence to be re-assessed.
Stress due to pandemic is no excuse
Elisabetta Lancellotta, an MP for Premier Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, was among the politicians to express astonishment.
“Sentences should be respected, but it is possible to not agree with them, like the decision of the Court of Cassation to annul the life sentence of the murderer of Lorena Quaranta because he was stressed by the pandemic,” Lancellotta said.
“COVID cannot, and must not, become a mitigating factor, especially for cases of femicide.
“During the pandemic we witnessed a considerable increase in domestic violence resulting in tragedy and today’s violence risks becoming a dangerous precedent.
“Violence against women cannot have mitigating circumstances, out of respect for the victims and their loved ones”.
Domestic abuse cases in Italy rose by 5% in the first half of 2024. Furthermore, a State police report showed femicide remains a significant issue in the country.
