Italy
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1998
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- NOVEMBER 12, 1998 · On 12 November 1998, Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan,...
- News items in the archive
- 712
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Italy is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 712 news items on Italy, from 1998 to today.
Italy abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in the Constitution of 1948, removed it from the military penal code of war in 1994 and, in 2007, amended article 27 of the Constitution to delete the last reference to it. Since then it has supported a universal moratorium in international forums.
The Italian news in this archive concerns above all the association's other front: conditions inside places of detention, meaning overcrowding, suicides, access to care, life imprisonment without parole and alternative measures, together with the prison visits the association carries out and publishes reports on.
Latest news
JUNE 7, 2006PhilippinesDEATH PENALTYHANDS OFF CAIN. HOC WELCOMES THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Hands Off Cain welcomes the news that Philippine law makers voted to abolish the death penalty.
JUNE 1, 2006IranDEATH PENALTYHANDS OFF CAIN. ANNULMENT OF SENTENCE WELCOMED, RULING SHOWS TRUTH IN HOC’S DENOUNCEMENT
Hands Off Cain welcomed the Iranian Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the death sentence handed down to Nazanin and to order a retrial due to the emergence of new factors in the case.
MAY 30, 2006KazakhstanDEATH PENALTYKAZAKHSTAN. HOC MEETS WITH OPPOSITION, DISCUSSES UN MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS
Hands Off Cain met with two Kazakh opposition leaders during its visit to the country: Amirzahan Kosanov, Secretary of Democratic Choice of Kazakistan and the party’s founder Galymzhan Zahikianov.
MAY 29, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTYKAZAKHSTAN. ‘FROM MORATORIUM TO THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY’
the seminar entitled “Kazakhstan from the Moratorium on Death Penalty Toward the Adoption of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR” took place in the country’s capital Almaty.
MAY 26, 2006KazakhstanDEATH PENALTYKAZAKHSTAN. HANDS OFF CAIN WILL ATTEND THE MEETING ON THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY
experts from 8 countries will convene in Almaty on Monday, May 29, to attend the Coordination meeting of NGOs “Kazakhstan from the Moratorium on Death Penalty Toward the Adoption of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR”.
MAY 23, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. HANDS OFF CAIN IN SUPPORT OF PRODI’S COMMITMENT FOR A MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS AT THE NEXT UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Hands Off Cain’s leaders, Sergio D’Elia and Elisabetta Zamparutti, expressed their full appreciation for the statement made by newly elected Prime Minister Romano Prodi in favour of a universal moratorium on executions.
- MAY 10, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC: NEW UN COUNCIL RISKS LOOSING CREDIBILITY
on the election of the new Human Rights Council at the United Nations, Hands Off Cain Treasurer Elisabetta Zamparutti stated: “The presence of totalitarian regimes such as China, Saudi Arabia and Cuba amongst the nations elected as members of the new Huma
- MARCH 29, 2006AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. CHRISTIAN CONVERT GRANTED ASYLUM IN ITALY
Abdur Rahman, an Afghan Christian convert who had faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam, arrived in Italy and was granted asylum.
- MARCH 21, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. ITALY CONCERNED FOR AFGHAN CHRISTIAN CONVERT FACING EXECUTION
Italy added its voice to concerns for a man facing death in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity, as Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini summoned the Afghan ambassador over the affair.
- MARCH 14, 2006IranDEATH PENALTY
HANDS OFF CAIN RESPONDS TO THE IRANIAN EMBASSY’S DENIAL OF THE EXECUTION OF MINORS IN IRAN
Hands Off Cain replies to a note sent it by the Iranian embassy in Rome in which it denyed the application of the death penalty to minors.
FEBRUARY 21, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTYHANDS OFF CAIN. STOP WITH THE HYPOCRISY OF THE HUMANENESS OF LETHAL INJECTION
Hands Off Cain Treasurer Elisabetta Zamparutti made the following statement regarding the events surrounding the case of Michael Angelo Morales: “States which have recently passed from the electric chair, from hanging or from death by firing squad to tha
FEBRUARY 17, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. HOC PRESENTS REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN IRAN AND APPEAL TO SAVE NAZANIN
a press conference took place at Hands Off Cain headquarters in Rome highlighting human rights violations in Iran and the case of Nazanin, the minor sentenced to death after being charged with killing one of the men who had attempted to rape her.
FEBRUARY 14, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTYEUROPEAN UNION. MARCO PANNELLA DEPOSITS PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION ON CHINA’S RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
Hands Off Cain President and MEP Marco Pannella deposited a question to the European Parliament regarding the violation of human rights and religious repression perpetrated in China commencing with the case of Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer who for years has take
- JANUARY 9, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
NEW JERSEY, USA. LAWMAKERS VOTE TO SUSPEND DEATH PENALTY
New Jersey lawmakers approved a moratorium on the death penalty, becoming the first US state legislature to block executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the punishment in 1976.
- JANUARY 1, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. PRESIDENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MAKES APPEAL FOR AMINA
President of the Italian Senate’s Human Rights Commission, Enrico Pianetta (Forza Italia), appealed to Yemen’s President, Ali Abdallah Saleh, for immediate clemency to be granted to Amina Ali Abdulatif Al Tuhaif, sentenced to death in Yemen for having par
- JANUARY 1, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Italy became totally abolitionist in 1994, when the death penalty was abolished from the Military Codes.
Italy became totally abolitionist in 1994, when the death penalty was abolished from the Military Codes.
DECEMBER 20, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. DECEMBER 31 DEDICATED TO ‘THE LAST DAY’
Hands Off Cain headquarters in Rome hosted the presentation of “The Last Day” (“Ultimo giorno”), a day of television dedicated exlusively to the death penalty, to be aired on December 31, 2005, on the satellite chanel ‘Planet’ from 7:30 am till midnight.
DECEMBER 13, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. ‘WILLIAMS EXECUTION IS RUTHLESS JUSTICE’, D’ELIA
Stanley Williams was executed after being denied clemency by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
DECEMBER 7, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY’S ACTORS AND DIRECTORS APPEAL TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO STANLEY ‘TOOKIE’ WILLIAMS
a number of Italy’s actors and directors have signed Hands Off Cain’s appeal aimed at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to halt the scheduled execution Stanley Williams at San Quintino penitentiary on December 13. Those who have given their suppor
- DECEMBER 5, 2005LibyaDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. SENATOR APPEALS TO GOVERNMENT TO URGENTLY UNDERTAKE ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF BULGARIANS ON DEATH ROW IN LIBYA
Tana de Zulueta, a senator for the Green Party group in Italy's senate, sent a parliamentary request to the Italian Government for urgent actions to help the Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya. De Zulueta officially asked the Government what mea
DECEMBER 5, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYHANDS OFF CAIN ENTRUSTS PRESIDENT CIAMPI WITH STANLEY ‘TOOKIE’ WILLAIMS APPEAL
Secretary of Hands Off Cain Sergio D’Elia delivered to Italy’s President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi the appeal signed by Italy’s Parliamentarians and Regional Presidents to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for the suspension of the scheduled execution
- DECEMBER 3, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. TRIBUNAL RULES AGAINST EXTRADITION OF CIPRIANI TO CONNECTICUT
the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) of Latina, Italy, suspended the extradition to the United States of Benedetto Cipriani, an Italian-American national charged with killing three people in the US.
DECEMBER 3, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYHOC. ITALIAN ‘GOVERNORS’ PRESENT CLEMENCY APPEAL FOR STANLEY ‘TOOKIE’ WILLIAMS
the press conference for the presentation of the appeal by Italy’s ‘Governors’ to ask California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger clemency for Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams, scheduled to be put to death on December 13, was held in Rome at Hands Off Cain’s headq
- DECEMBER 2, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC. PRESS RELEASE TO PRESENT PETITION FOR ‘TOOKIE’ WILLIAMS
there will be the presentation of the petition signed by the italian governors to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to halt the executions of Stanley “Tookie” Williams, whose execution is scheduled on december 13th.
DECEMBER 2, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. 53 PARLIAMENTARIANS SIGN WILLIAMS APPEAL
53 parliamentarians have so far given their support to Hands Off Cain’s appeal aimed at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to halt the scheduled execution Stanley Williams.
DECEMBER 1, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYITALY. EIGHTEEN REGIONAL PRESIDENTS SIGN WILLIAMS APPEAL
two more of Italy’s regional ‘Governors’ added their support to the appeal aimed at California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to halt the execution of Stanley Williams, scheduled to take place on December 13.
- NOVEMBER 30, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
1,000TH EXECUTION IN THE U.S. AND CITIES AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY, D’ELIA: LETS NOT FORGET THE SLAUGHTER IN CHINA AND THOSE CONDEMNED TO DEATH IN IRAN, VIETNAM AND NORTH KOREA
Hands Off Cain adhered to the demonstration in Rome on November 30 in front of the United States embassy to mark the 1,000th US execution since the Supreme Court reintroduced the death penalty in 1976.
- NOVEMBER 30, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. CITIES LIGHT UP MONUMENTS AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
over 380 towns around the world joined forces to condemn the death penalty, as the United States prepared to carry out its 1,000th execution since reinstating capital punishment 30 years ago.
NOVEMBER 30, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTYAFGHANISTAN. CUTULI CASE, ITALIAN EMBASSY AWAITS CONFIRMATION OF DEATH SENTENCES
it was reported that the Italian embassy in Kabul may ask for the commutation into life imprisonment of the death sentences handed down to brothers Zar Jan and Abdul Wahid for the murders of Maria Grazia Catulli and three other journalists in November 200
- NOVEMBER 28, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
italy. CIAMPI, LETTA AND TUTU BACK S.EGIDIO
"The Italian government confirms its commitment on a death penalty moratorium, as per UN proposal", according to Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta, in his message to the "Sant'Egidio" Catholic NGO on the eve of the 4th International Death Penalty Abolit