Commit a Crime, go ... Home?

Today's WSJ has a page one article that is amazing. In Italy, apparently, almost no one goes to jail.

Less than two years ago, Italy's prison system faced a crisis: Built to hold 43,000 inmates, it was straining to contain more than 60,000.

So the government crafted an emergency plan. It swung open the prison doors and let more than a third of the inmates go free.

Within months, bank robberies jumped by 20%. Kidnappings and fraud also rose, as did computer crime, arson and purse-snatchings.

Who would have expected this? There's more.

The death penalty is considered abhorrent, and life sentences are rare. Defendants have the right to two appeals, and even traffic tickets can be appealed to the nation's highest court. Italy's courts are so clogged that the statute of limitations on most felonies expires before a final verdict can be reached.

Claudio Urciuoli, a criminal defense lawyer in Rome, says he often reassures his clients: "Don't worry, you'll never go to prison."

Here's the best story of all. Fat criminals don't do time.

Prosecutors have charged Salvatore Ferranti for being a henchman of one of Sicily's fiercest crime families. But last month he was released from the slammer and given house arrest. The reason: He was too fat. The prison system didn't have beds big enough to accommodate his 462-pound frame.

"The fact of the matter is that obesity is not compatible with prison," says Lino Buscemi, secretary of the Sicily region's Department of Prisoners' Rights in Palermo.

Fat people shouldn't do jail time? Marvellous. As soon as the ACLU gets finished persecuting the Boy Scouts, they should look into this.