The murders sparked protests in Messina, Rome and other Italian cities, including Bologna, on Wednesday night. Further events are planned on Thursday.
In March, Giorgia Meloni’s government approved a draft law which for the first time introduced a legal definition of femicide in criminal law, punishing it with life in prison while increasing sentences for crimes including stalking, sexual violence and “revenge porn”.
The law followed the strong public reaction to the killing of Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old student who was murdered by her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, in November 2023. Turetta was sentenced to life in prison in December.
So murdering people hasn’t been met with punishment in Italy before? That’s news to me.
Of course it has. I seriously doubt that these murderers were calculating their prison sentence and telling themselves "Oh, if I only get 15 years in prison, that’s not too bad. "