A bill to assist and guarantee compensation to victims of wrongful imprisonment has been introduced in Parliament.
"The Zuncheddu Law" is the name of the popular initiative proposed by the Radical Party and subsequently signed and submitted to both Houses of Parliament by Forza Italia, which presented it today at a press conference attended by several party members, including group leaders Paolo Barelli and Maurizio Gasparri and, via video link, the pastor himself, declared innocent in 2024 after serving over 30 years in prison for the 1991 Sinnai massacre.
The law provides, before the final decision on compensation is made (usually after years), a provisional financial compensation of €1,000 per month is guaranteed to victims of wrongful imprisonment who are acquitted at the end of a trial . 50,000 signatures have been collected, said Radical Party treasurer Irene Testa, guarantor of Sardinian prisoners: "But unfortunately, it's not enough. Now it's important for this to become a law for everyone."
In his speech, Zuncheddu recalled his experience: "When you leave prison, they open the gates for you, and then you make do, live and save yourself as best you can. Thank God, I have a family, and they're still supporting me, despite all the expenses they've already incurred." And, speaking of his trial: "A lawyer is useless because he has no say in the matter. There's the judge and the prosecutor; it's two against one."
Senator Gasparri : "We want to expedite the process and bring to Parliament a proposal on the possibility of providing compensation to victims of wrongful imprisonment who receive reimbursements after many years. Zuncheddu's case is fortunately an extreme one, but it should give us pause for thought . Many victims of miscarriages of justice are left without means of support. We received a proposal from the Radical Party, which Forza Italia presented to Parliament, for compensation for these cases, while we await the judicial decisions, which always come late. We're talking about a €1,000 payment to allow these victims of miscarriages of justice at least to survive, because their lives, their jobs, their families are often devastated."
