Decision of the Court of Cassation, I Criminal Section, No. 27766 of 22 March 2017

The Court of Cassation annulled the order of the Surveillance Court in Bologna, which rejected the Salvatore Riina’s request for deferral of the execution of the sentence or, alternatively, for home detention because of his serious health conditions. For the Court of Cassation, the overall state of physical attrition of the person as well as any other non-pathological causes such as old age must be take into account, to prevent inhuman or degrading treatments in conformity with Article 3 of the ECHR. The Court underlines that, in the light of constitutional principles and the ECHR provisions, to the detainees must be guaranteed the right to die with dignity.