Italy’s Supreme Court decided this week that it is no longer a crime for individuals going hungry to steal food.
Judges for the nation’s highest court ruled Monday in favor of a homeless man named Roman Ostriakov who was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $115 after he stole less than $5 worth of cheese and sausage from a grocery store, the Washington Post reported.
Ostriakov, a Ukrainian national, appealed the charges. His lawyers contended that because he was caught prior to leaving the store, his sentence should be dropped down from theft to attempted theft.
The Italian Supreme Court instead overturned his sentence entirely thus setting precedent in the nation.
"The condition of the accused and the circumstances in which he obtained the merchandise show that he had taken the little amount of food he needed to overcome his immediate and essential requirement for nourishment," the judges ruled. "People should not be punished if, forced by need, they steal small quantities of food in order to meet the basic requirement of feeding themselves."
Two media companies La Stampa and Italiaglobale.it lauded the decision in separate pieces as "right and pertinent," arguing the "right to survival prevails over property."
But not everyone agreed.
The BBC noted an opinion piece by Corriere Della Sera where the Italian newspaper hit the decision as "unthinkable that it should not take note of reality." The editors cited reports showing that the number of poor individuals in Italy increases by 615 people each day.