Italy's Meloni asks justice minister to launch pardon for jeweler who killed two robbers

The 2021 robbery and shooting

On 28 April 2021, three men robbed the jewelry store of Mario Roggero in Grinzane Cavour, a small town near Turin. After taking goods, the robbers fled on foot. Roggero, then 67, grabbed a firearm, chased them, and shot. Two of the robbers died; a third was wounded. A video of the pursuit and shooting later spread widely on the internet. Italy's Supreme Court definitively sentenced Roggero to 14 years and 9 months in prison, ruling that he had exceeded the bounds of legitimate self-defence because the immediate threat to his life had ended when he fired.

Meloni asks for pardon process

In an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera on 19 July 2026, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed she had instructed Justice Minister Carlo Nordio to activate the procedure for a presidential pardon. "I asked the Justice Minister to proceed with the pardon process for jeweler Mario Roggero. We must call things by their name," she said. She stressed that while the constitution reserves the pardon power to the President of the Republic, the minister can and should set the process in motion.

No one has ever disputed that the pardon is the exclusive right of the President of the Republic, but this does not prevent the Justice Minister from initiating the whole process.

Meloni described the 14-year, 9-month sentence as disproportionate. She argued that the physiological effects of extreme stress must be considered, citing scientific literature on how adrenaline alters perception and bodily control.

When we are attacked, our body and mind go into combat mode. There are many scientific publications which explain that adrenaline changes all the senses, the body, our overall perception.

"Who is in a position to judge the pain, trauma, stress and fear of this man?" she asked.

Government rallies behind Roggero

The entire centre-right coalition has lined up behind the pardon request. League leader Matteo Salvini has been a vocal supporter, and his party is gathering signatures for clemency. The case has ignited a fierce political and ideological clash over self-defence laws and the principle that the state alone may punish crime. The opposition has largely refrained from taking a clear position, wary of the electoral cost, while many in the judiciary and civil society have defended the conviction as essential to upholding the rule of law.

Pressure on President Mattarella

Under Italian procedure, the Justice Ministry examines pardon applications and then forwards them to the head of state. The initiative now places President Sergio Mattarella at the centre of the controversy. He alone can sign a pardon decree. The case is expected to dominate Italian political discourse in the run-up to the next parliamentary elections.