Italy: Reform of Italian Self Defense Law Effective - No Charges for Fredy Pacini

Italian flag, from wikipedia, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

On 15 March, 2021, Fredy Pacini, a 61-Year-Old tire and bicyle shop owner from Monte San Savino, Tuscany, Italy, was officially notified he would not be prosecuted for shooting and killing one of the intruders who had broken into his shop, at night, with a pick-axe. From newsrnd.com:

For the judge “it is reasonable that Pacini could have foreseen that, shortly thereafter, he could have found himself in serious danger of his life and that we feared for his safety. In addition, the fact occurred in the middle of the night, in an isolated area and that the police, even if they had been immediately alerted by the alarm system, would not have been able to intervene on the spot for 15-20 minutes “.

It was the first widely reported case to test the new Italian law on armed self defense on your own property. Unione Sarda reported Pacini used a pistol he had retrieved from a safe to defend himself from the intruders. He was awakened to the sound of breaking glass a bit after three a.m. He fired five times. 

Three of the shots hit the door frame. One shot hit one of the intruders in the knee, the fifth shot hit the same intruder in the thigh, severing the femoral artery. The shot was fatal. 

The prosecutor had asked the case to be dismissed, under the old law, in March of 2019. The prosecutor believed Pacini had met the criteria for legitimate self defense. The judge in the case had rejected the request in September of 2020, and ordered more investigation.

The new Italian self-defense law was passed in March of 2019. 

Pacini had his business broken into on 28 November, 2018. His business had been broken into 38 times previously. Prime Minister Salvatini had commented on the case at the time. The quote is found in many articles:

“Being a robber is a dangerous job. Am I wrong??? Self-defence is always legitimate!” Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League, said on Facebook.

“My solidarity lies with the Tuscan shopkeeper who was robbed 38 times,” he said.

Prime Minister Salvatini had fought for a reformed self-defense law for years. One had come close to passage in 2017. 

The previous law had its origin in Fascist Italy of Benito Muosilini. From davekopel.org:

Modern Italian gun control laws date from the Fascist period; the Public Safety Act was passed in 1931 as one of a series of measures designed to put an end to leftist violence. Addressing the Italian Senate Benito Mussolini explained:

“The measures adopted to restore public order are: First of all, the elimination of the so-called subversive elements. … They were elements of disorder and subversion. On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results.”

The laws were, as are most gun control laws, made for political repression rather than for preventing crime. After WWII, the laws were not restored to earlier usage. Rather, they were made stricter and more repressive.

Italians had become increasingly frustrated with law that victimized the victims and coddled the criminals. 

The momentum to reform Italian law had been building since the turn of the millenium. 

Self defense is tied to all the things the left hates: individual responsibility, independence, limited government, self reliance. It is a hopeful sign that Italians are embracing it.

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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