Road homicide: what is Italy waiting for? Road fatalities in Italy can only be tackled through the crime of causing death by dangerous driving. The president of the non-profit Lorenzo Guarnieri association (named after a young man from Florence killed in a hit and run accident), is one of the backers of the bill, which has just been approved by the parliament’s Transport Committee. The draft will be passed to the Justice Committee this Autumn so that the new offence can be introduced into the Criminal Code.
“Currently there is no penalty for those who kill by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, unless you consider a few hours of community service to be a punishment,” explains Stefania Guarnieri. “The killer doesn’t have to go to prison, not even for one day, and they can even get their license back and drive again after some time. We are simply asking for justice. We are convinced that the certainty of a prison sentence, followed by a period of rehabilitation and a complete revocation of the driving license could be useful deterrents to prevent innocent people, often as young as our son, from losing their lives on the road. Countries that have already introduced the crime of causing death by dangerous driving, such as Britain, also have a lower road accident death rate.”
“We believe that the easiest way to ensure legal certainty and an appropriate sentence is to introduce a new offence of ‘road homicide’, which is defined as a murder with intent. There is nothing random or unpredictable about deaths caused by people driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs but currently they are not considered culpable. However, it is quite predictable that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can cause irreparable damage: this means there is wilful misconduct.”
Are you proposing a minimum of eight years only for those driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or for all dangerous drivers?
“Our proposal applies to all cases: even those who leave the scene of an accident will automatically be considered under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” says Guarnieri. “This means it wouldn’t be an advantage to leave the scene, as it is under the current laws, with the culprit often escaping and turning themselves into the police only when the traces of alcohol or drugs are no longer in their system. This enables them to plead guilty only to manslaughter, which has an even lower sentence than aggravated murder. We hope that the limit of eight years won’t be reduced by the Justice Committee, because it is the minimum sentence that could change the current situation of impunity.”
Before being passed before Parliament, the bill had collected 50,000 signatures in a few months. “Today we have 80,000 and it’s still possible to sign it on the site www.omicidiostradale.it,” says Guarnieri.
http://www.west-info.eu/road-homicide-what-is-italy-waiting-for/
