In a week the Court of Cassation will decide on the case of Mario Roggero, the jeweler convicted of killing two robbers: Mattarella’s pardon is now being invoked
In a week the Court of Cassation will have to say the last – judicial – word on Mario Roggero. Perhaps not everyone remembers the story of this thin and courteous 72-year-old Piedmontese. On 28 April five years ago, three robbers attacked his jewelery shop in Grinzane Cavour, threatening his wife and daughter to get them to hand over the jewels. There was a scuffle between him and the criminals and, while the bandits fled, the man grabbed the gun and chased them, shooting. Two members of the gang died, the third was injured.
Roggero had already suffered a violent robbery years before and, paradoxically, instead of being a reason to explain his reaction, having already been the victim of an assault almost became an element against him: according to the general prosecutor, he shot because he was motivated “by an uncontainable thirst for revenge”.
As a result, at first instance the jeweler was sentenced to 17 years in prison, on appeal to 14 and 9 months. The court also established compensation for the families of the two dead bandits, as well as setting a provisional amount for the injured robber. In total, Roggero has already paid out one million euros, but the family members of the criminals – including the partner of the mother of one of the deceased – are demanding three million, as well as a winning from the Italian Lottery. Just to clarify, the surviving criminal, a guy with a less than spotless CV, in addition to the compensation already obtained by order of the judges, complains of “post traumatic stress disorder” and claims another 225 thousand euros. In practice, a small provincial shopkeeper risks imprisonment until his last days and, also, of ending up broke, he and his family. All this for defending himself, for reacting to a robbery. His wife and daughter were threatened: the first with a knife pointed at the throat, the second with a gun to the head. The weapon later turned out to be a dog swatter but, of course, Roggero couldn’t have known this when he pulled the trigger.
Did the meek and somewhat pedantic man who had traded in rings and necklaces all his life lose his mind that day? Yes, but who wouldn’t lose it by seeing their loved ones attacked and beaten? He, the jeweller, also received a hail of punches and his blood was found on the door of the shop. But being the victim of a violent robbery, according to the judges, still did not justify his reaction. He had to raise his hands, not shoot. He had called the police, pressing the alarm inside the shop. He should have left it to them, not chased alone the bandits who were making off with the loot. What condemns him is a film outside the jewelry store in which he is seen pulling the trigger. He says that in the heat of the moment he thought that the criminals, to ensure their escape, had taken his wife hostage and, he adds, that one of them would have waved the revolver at him. That’s why he would have shot. “I didn’t want to kill,” he explained, “I was just trying to defend myself.”
The judges, of first and second degree, did not believe him and, unfortunately, I fear that not even those of the Supreme Court will believe him. Obviously I hope I’m wrong, but from what little I know about justice matters, I see it as tough. Roggero himself, however, sees it as tough. Even though he hasn’t lost hope, he has already packed his suitcase: he bought two summer pajamas, socks and underwear and has even chosen the books he wants to take to his cell. In short, he will not escape the extreme consequences.
But is it right that for having defended himself, after a lifetime of work and sacrifices, a man should spend his remaining days behind bars like a common criminal? Is it acceptable for the relatives of the robbers to enrich themselves at the expense of an honest family whose fault it is to have been the victim of an attack by bandits? Yes, I know that no one has the right to take justice into their own hands and also that self-defense imposes limits to avoid the Wild West. And I also understand that this is the law and the judges, who sometimes find all the mitigating circumstances, in the case of Mario Roggero were unable to find even one. However, although I am aware of all this, I believe that turning a blind eye to the detention of a small bourgeois is an injustice. This is why I take the liberty of drawing the attention of the President of the Republic. There are few cases that seem worthy of obtaining a measure of clemency and Roggero’s case seems to me to be one of them. Mattarella grant him grace: it would be a nice message to all honest people.
