Italian Court Rules Food Theft "is Not A Crime"

[mushroom25]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36190557

what chance of a similar ruling in a UK court?

[-Talbot-]

No idea but it also seems food theft in Germany is not a crime.

[ToraToraTora]

welcome to the wonderful world of Italian "justice" - this is the country that jailed scientists for not predicting an earthquake! MAABOF!

[ToraToraTora]

so It's legal to do a runner from restaurants is it? Right oh!

[ummmm]

I can understand why.

[Hopkirk]

Actually, I feel a bit peckish.

[jim360]

Casually omitting the "if hungry" bit from the headline is more than a little dishonest. This amounts to saying that "we will take circumstances into account when deciding on guilt and appropriate punishment." It has to follow that someone who is taking food because they have neither the money to pay for it nor any hope of doing so should be treated much less harshly than someone who is taking food because they are just choosing not to pay for it. Whether I'd go so far as to say that it shouldn't be a crime I don't know. But prison and a fine in this case would hardly solve the problems behind the man's circumstances. He'd still be hungry and he'd have even less money.

[Old_Geezer]

Poor decision. One can see they have tried to consider compassion in the circumstances, but that should the mitigating circumstances considered when considering any penalty imposed, or help offered; not changing the verdict which should remain guilty of theft.

[Old_Geezer]

After the editing change I seem to be left with too much consideration.

[ToraToraTora]

so next time I go to Italy, I can't just walk out of the supermarket with a juicy sexton then?

[jim360]

I think you'd struggle to mount a successful defence if you can afford to jet off to Italy and then decide to do so just to check if this ruling applies to people cynically pretending they are hungry...

[PeelerPal]

I think the word 'Theft' is the key here! theftr is theft regardless of what you take. the definition is, 'Dishonest appropriation of property, belonging to another with the permanent intention of depriving the other of it'.

it that happens under any circumstance it is a crime, however, should somebody have genuine 'intention' not for depravity but for survival then of course it is not theft. Common sense cones into play with situations like these

[Old_Geezer]

And I am to believe it was the only way for the needy to get sustenance in Italy ? He was certainly intending to permanently deprive others of it.

[PeelerPal]

Tora
If I was paying millions upon millions to scientists to ensure that earthquakes are detected and they did not do their job, I would call that fraud by misrepresentation and yes I would jail them too.

[Old_Geezer]

Only if they did not put in their best efforts and didn't provide the best forecast that they were capable of. It's not like a 100% set of indicators always appear but were ignored.

[jim360]

Depends strongly on what the scientists said beforehand. In point of fact, though, they weren't being paid to "predict" earthquakes specifically, but to study them. Earthquake prediction remains beyond our abilities, despite our best efforts. That's what the research was about.

However, the conviction (for manslaughter, in 2012) was overturned two years later.

[ToraToraTora]

no tech exists to predict earthquakes Peeler.

[jackthehat]

One of our venerable Law Judges ruled that stealing a loaf of bread because because you are hungry/starving should still result in a conviction for theft.....but that the circumstances ought to be taken into account on sentencing.

That is still the position in the Uk as far as I know.

[ToraToraTora]

Well we no longer hang them for stealing bread JTH!

[PeelerPal]

Tora, of course there is!! I think you mean that there is no tech that can predict them but detection has been available since 1973. I know sod all regarding seismology but i know that earthquakes can be detected at the preliminary stages, which can assist in disaster prevention. This is why there is so much controversy in haiti and other countries that are prone to them, yet sanfrancisco can cope because of the early warning signs.

[youngmafbog]

All harolds should immediately proceed to Italy then, as should food bank user.