Studiare in carcere un diritto “di carta” o una garanzia effettiva? L’esperienza del Polo Penitenziario Universitario di Palermo

Abstract

In-prison education, though defined as a fundamental right of inmates by both supranational and national legal frameworks, appears to largely dissipate in practical application due to the myriad daily challenges within penitentiary institutions.

Despite constituting a fundamental expression of the "multi-level dignity status" of inmates, the right to education struggles to become a vibrant and generalized component of correctional treatment, hindering its re-educative and humanizing purpose as enshrined in Article 27 of the Italian Constitution.

The provisions for facilitating study (Article 19 of the Penitentiary Act – Law no. 354/75) and, where possible, the allocation (Article 44 of the Penitentiary Regulations – Presidential Decree no. 230/2000) of dedicated time and space for studying – lexical phrases that arguably impede the full realization of the right to education – are herein subjected to constant scrutiny against the four-year experience of the Palermo University Penitentiary Hub.