Italy prison suicides spike as post-COVID misery lingers

FILE PHOTO: Inmates are seen on the roof of the San Vittore Prison during a revolt after family visits were suspended due to fears over coronavirus contagion, in Milan, Italy March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Suicides in Italian jails have jumped to a 10-year high, the national ombudsman for prisoners said on Friday, noting that three years of the COVID-19 pandemic had made inmates' lives even more miserable.

Prison overcrowding is a chronic problem in Italy and last year then-Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised a reform of the penitentiary system after the publication of a video showing guards beating inmates in a jail near Naples.