Renato Vallanzasca, the 73-year-old former protagonist of the Milanese mala of the 70s and 80s and who has already spent over 50 years as a prisoner, must remain in prison. This was decided by the Surveillance Court of Milan which rejected the request of the defenders for deferment of sentence, with home detention in a suitable structure, for health reasons.
The lawyers Corrado Limentani and Paolo Muzzi had produced a consultation signed by three neurologists, including Professor Stefano Zago, and a forensic doctor to show that Vallanzasca has been suffering from cognitive impairment for at least 4 years and that detention in prison is aggravating his condition.
In the order, the judges (President D'Elia, Rossi and two experts) recognize, from what has been known, the cognitive impairment and the slow and progressive aggravation of the clinical picture, but clarify that there are conservative and pharmacological treatments and that the 73-year-old can therefore be treated in prison. For the defense, however, Vallanzasca's conditions are "incompatible with prison" where cognitive support therapies cannot be "practiced". The judges also rejected the "so-called humanitarian" sentence and the request for a forensic medical report.
In the provision, as the lawyers clarify, "nothing is detected on the alleged dangerousness, excluded by the fact that the Surveillance Court, in a different composition" in recent days has reactivated for him the premium permits in a community. "Denying not only home detention, but also the expertise seems to me completely unjustified and inhuman - said the lawyer Limentani - as it prevents a person, in prison for 50 years and clearly not dangerous, who is clearly sick and continues to worsen, to be able to treat himself or at least to slow down the aggravation of his pathology ". And he concludes: "We will appeal to the Supreme Court".