Presentations & conferences
Innocent in Prison" – Miscarriages of Justice: Victims and Experts
The Merano Academy is hosting an international conference at Castel Mareccio in Bolzano on the topic of miscarriages of justice and wrongful detention – a phenomenon that occurs in every rule-of-law state but is rarely addressed openly and critically.
In the first part of the conference, people who have experienced wrongful convictions or unjust imprisonment will share their stories: false accusations, social exclusion, and months or years spent in prison before their innocence was recognised. Among the speakers are Giovanni De Luise (eight years and eight months in prison following a case of mistaken identity), Angelo Massaro (21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, later acquitted following a retrial), and others who were fully exonerated after lengthy legal proceedings.
The second part features three expert panel discussions:
The first panel brings together investigative journalists to examine three widely debated cases: the life sentences handed down to Rosa Bazzi and Olindo Romano for the so-called "Erba massacre", the conviction of Massimo Bossetti for the murder of Yara Gambirasio, and the 25-year sentence imposed on Monica Bussetto for the murder of Lida Taffi Pamio.
The second panel brings together legal scholars and journalists to discuss the structural causes of miscarriages of justice and possible remedies. Participants include Alessandro Barbano, Raffaele Della Valle and Vincenzo Vitale, moderated by Antonino Monteleone.
The third panel features legal experts from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland discussing how miscarriages of justice are handled in other European countries. Speakers include Carsten Momsen (Free University of Berlin, co-founder of "Innocence Project Deutschland"), Linda Geven (University of Leiden, co-founder of EUREX) and Teresa Schneider (University of Lucerne, co-founder of EUREX). EUREX is the first shared European database for miscarriage-of-justice cases, established in 2024. The panel is moderated by Cuno Tarfusser.
The conference was initiated by Cuno Tarfusser, President of the Merano Academy, former Chief Prosecutor in Bolzano, judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and Deputy Prosecutor General in Milan. In the course of his career he was personally involved in concrete cases of miscarriages of justice, including that of the Romano-Bazzi couple, for whom he had requested a retrial – a request that was rejected in 2024.
Alongside the event, a small library will be set up with books related to the topics and cases discussed, also available for purchase.
Admission is free.
Programme:
09:00 Opening and institutional greetings
09:15 Introduction: aims of the conference
09:30 The scale of the problem
10:00 Victims' testimonies
14:00 Discussion: current controversial cases
15:30 Experts on causes and possible remedies
17:00 A European perspective
19:00 Closing
In the first part of the conference, people who have experienced wrongful convictions or unjust imprisonment will share their stories: false accusations, social exclusion, and months or years spent in prison before their innocence was recognised. Among the speakers are Giovanni De Luise (eight years and eight months in prison following a case of mistaken identity), Angelo Massaro (21 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, later acquitted following a retrial), and others who were fully exonerated after lengthy legal proceedings.
The second part features three expert panel discussions:
The first panel brings together investigative journalists to examine three widely debated cases: the life sentences handed down to Rosa Bazzi and Olindo Romano for the so-called "Erba massacre", the conviction of Massimo Bossetti for the murder of Yara Gambirasio, and the 25-year sentence imposed on Monica Bussetto for the murder of Lida Taffi Pamio.
The second panel brings together legal scholars and journalists to discuss the structural causes of miscarriages of justice and possible remedies. Participants include Alessandro Barbano, Raffaele Della Valle and Vincenzo Vitale, moderated by Antonino Monteleone.
The third panel features legal experts from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland discussing how miscarriages of justice are handled in other European countries. Speakers include Carsten Momsen (Free University of Berlin, co-founder of "Innocence Project Deutschland"), Linda Geven (University of Leiden, co-founder of EUREX) and Teresa Schneider (University of Lucerne, co-founder of EUREX). EUREX is the first shared European database for miscarriage-of-justice cases, established in 2024. The panel is moderated by Cuno Tarfusser.
The conference was initiated by Cuno Tarfusser, President of the Merano Academy, former Chief Prosecutor in Bolzano, judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and Deputy Prosecutor General in Milan. In the course of his career he was personally involved in concrete cases of miscarriages of justice, including that of the Romano-Bazzi couple, for whom he had requested a retrial – a request that was rejected in 2024.
Alongside the event, a small library will be set up with books related to the topics and cases discussed, also available for purchase.
Admission is free.
Programme:
09:00 Opening and institutional greetings
09:15 Introduction: aims of the conference
09:30 The scale of the problem
10:00 Victims' testimonies
14:00 Discussion: current controversial cases
15:30 Experts on causes and possible remedies
17:00 A European perspective
19:00 Closing
Cookie settings