Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Roman Ostriakov

 

Charge:

"Theft (including swindling/fraud, deception and grand larceny)"

Sentence:

6 months & €100 fine

Years Imprisoned:

0.25

Year Crime:

2011

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Italy

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Genoa

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Roman Ostriakov was wrongly convicted on February 12, 2015 of theft for attempting to steal two pieces of cheese and a packet of sausages worth €4.07 (US$4.50) from a supermarket in Genoa, Italy in 2011. Ostriakov, 31, was a homeless man of of Ukrainian background who only had enough money to buy some breadsticks that he paid for. A shopper alerted security that he had unpaid for food items in his pocket, and he was arrested when he attempted to leave the market. After his conviction, Ostriakov was sentenced to six months in jail and a €100 fine (US$115). Ostriakov's sentence was stayed while he appealed. However, his conviction and sentence were affirmed in two rounds of appellate review. The prosecution appealed to Italy's highest court, the Supreme Court of Cassation, arguing that Ostriakov should have been found guilty of the lesser crime of attempted theft and his sentence reduced accordingly, because his arrest before he had left the supermarket prevented him from completing the theft. On May 2, 2015 Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation reversed Ostriakov's conviction in making the landmark ruling that stealing small amounts of food necessary to overcome a person's immediate need for food is not a crime under Italian law. The Court ruled, "The condition of the defendant and the circumstances in which the seizure of merchandise took place prove that he took possession of that small amount of food in the face of an immediate and essential need for nourishment, acting therefore in a state of necessity." (Supreme Court of Cassation, Judgment 18248, fifth criminal section, May 2, 2016)"

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On May 2, 2015 Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation reversed Ostriakov's conviction in making the landmark ruling that stealing small amounts of food necessary to overcome a person's immediate hunger is not a crime under Italian law."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Italian court rules food theft 'not a crime' if hungry, By Staff, BBC News, May 3, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36190557

Information Source 2:

"Stealing food if you are poor and hungry is not a crime, Italy's highest court rules, By Nick Squires (Rome correspondent), The Telegraph (London, UK), May 3, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/03/stealing-food-if-you-are-poor-and-hungry-is-not-a-crime-italys-h/

Information Source 3:

"Italy’s high court overturns conviction of homeless thief, By Staff, PressTV.ir, May 3, 2016"

Information Location 3:

http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/05/03/463768/Italy-court-homeless-thief/

Information Source 4:

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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