For the second time in the space of a few days, Mario Roggero has received a "no" — the jeweller detained in Bollate who is serving a final sentence of 14 years and 9 months for killing two robbers and wounding a third shortly after an assault on his jewellery shop in Grinzane Cavour, in the province of Cuneo.
Following the rejection by the Turin Supervisory Court, an identical application seeking a deferral of the sentence's execution — linked to a request for a pardon — was declared inadmissible by the Milan judges. This means that the 72-year-old jeweller, who just yesterday in court explained that he had begun to come to terms with what happened on 28 April five years ago and had come to realise that he could perhaps have been "less impulsive and more reflective", remains in prison. In two pages, presiding judge Marcello Bortolato and judge Carmen D'Elia, without entering into the merits of the case, explained why in their view the application is inadmissible. First and foremost, it is a legal instrument "applicable exclusively in cases where the execution of the sentence has not yet begun," whereas in this case the application was submitted when the jeweller "was already in custody."
Furthermore, the Turin judiciary had already intervened: in that venue, the application — rejected last Monday and subject to the "ordinary rules of appeal" — had been "correctly submitted" when the goldsmith was still free. In addition, the panel, responding to "the arguments put forward by the defence," represented by lawyers Sergio Novani and Stefano Marcolini, stressed that this instrument "is exceptional in nature, as can be inferred from the limited timeframe within which the benefit may be granted," namely six months. Therefore, "in consideration of the underlying rationale — the ruling notes — it must apply only in relation to individuals who are still free. Otherwise, the provision would lend itself to 'improper' use." For those already in custody, it is possible instead to apply "other instruments" that "may entail either a straightforward deferral of the sentence or deferral in the form of house arrest."
The latter was requested by the defence lawyers, but as a secondary option subordinate to the deferral of the sentence's execution. While the legal team is working on an appeal to the Court of Cassation against the Turin ruling, the case has also attracted political intervention. The Lega party reiterated "its commitment to stand by him, both in Parliament with our proposals and through the fundraising" initiative also organised "on Sunday in Pontida to help cover his legal expenses." The Siena City Council also approved a motion by Lega councillors in support of the request for a pardon — a prerogative reserved solely for President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.
