Criminals in Italy have been given an unusual route to redemption – serving the very system that helped convict them.
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A coffeeshop in a Turin courthouse is looking for prisoners or former prisoners to provide judges, magistrates and lawyers with their daily caffeine fix.
On Wednesday, Turin’s city council signed off on plans for the cafe, which is currently closed but is expected to reopen in a few months’ time.
“This is part of efforts to humanise the detention of prisoners. To have a job during the day and be in contact with clients helps reintegration into society at the end of the sentence,” said council spokesman Michele Chicco, without commenting on the possibility of a prisoner having to serve an espresso to the judge who convicted him.
The courthouse is home to 900 employees as well as hundreds of magistrates and lawyers.
It looks after all cases of justices in the Piedmont region, from prosecution to appeal, according to AFP.
The city council signed a six-year deal with an organisation which is involved with reintegrating criminals into society.