Outcry after mobsters let out of prison

Italy’s government has been forced to rethink a scheme intended to protect elderly prisoners from coronavirus, after mobsters were allowed out under house arrest.

The programme originally did not differentiate between normal prisoners and those convicted of serious crime, prompting outrage. One of those freed had been involved in the murder of a child whose body was dissolved in acid.

Some were held in isolation, and the chief antimafia prosecutor questioned the likelihood of them ever catching the virus. The government is now to review all requests from mafia convicts.