Prison shrink gets jail sentence in inmate suicide
Eight-month suspended sentence and damages to family
08 April, 20:39
(ANSA) - Milan, April 8 - A Milan court on Tuesday handed a
prison psychologist a suspended eight-month sentence for failing
to prevent the suicide of an inmate under her care, judicial
sources said.The court found Roberta De Simone guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death Luca Campanale, 28, who hanged himself with a sheet in his cell in August 2009.
Campanale was behind bars at Milan's San Vittore penitentiary on drug-related offences.
The judge said De Simone underestimated the inmate's suicidal tendencies, even though he had already tried to kill himself eight times and two prison psychiatrists had diagnosed him as psychotic and afflicted by persecution mania just a month prior to his death.
In addition, De Simone was sentenced along with the justice ministry to pay upwards of 500,000 euros in compensation to Campanale's parents and his two brothers.
