Scoppola v. Italy
European Court of Human Rights
No. 30, 126/05 (2012) ECHR 868 (2012)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
In September 1999, Franco Scoppola killed his wife and injured one of his sons. Scoppola was charged with murder, attempted murder, and unauthorized possession of a firearm. In November 2000, a criminal court convicted Scoppola of all charges and sentenced Scoppola to 30 years in prison. In its decision, the court outlined the aggravating circumstances supporting the verdict, finding that Scoppola has a significant history of domestic violence towards his family members and that Scoppola murdered his wife in response to one of his children allegedly breaking his cellphone. The court also imposed a lifetime ban on Scoppola from holding public office and from exercising his right to vote under Article 29 of the Italian Criminal Code. Article 29 of the Italian Criminal Code allowed for the permanent disenfranchisement of Italian citizens serving life sentences with the possibility of rehabilitation after three years of their sentence. Scoppola filed an application against Italy before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), asserting that his disenfranchisement following his criminal conviction violated Article 6 and Article 7 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the convention) and Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the convention. The first panel of the ECtHR unanimously found Italy violated Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 by disenfranchising Scoppola. Italy appealed the decision to the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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