Double penalty and double right? Prison at the time of the Covid-19

Abstract

The spreading of the new coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in Italy caused inevitable consequences also on our penitentiary system and on all the people that live and work there. Thoughts, experiences and strategies for coping with the emergency are reported through three testimonies of three Directors of Italian Penitentiary Institutes. In some cases, the crisis was managed using creativity, imagination and motivation. This attitude lead to valid treatments profiles and to functional communication systems between the prison and the outside world. The mediation of conflicts and the inevitable tensions caused by the pandemic emergency were well handled and the results are visible and concrete.