https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2023.11512

The murder of a psychiatrist in Italy raises problems for all of us

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2023): In Memory of Barbara Capovani
Published: 23 June 2023
Italian mental health system, Law 180, mental health providers, workplace violence, forensic psychiatric treatment, REMS, judicial psychiatric hospitals, OPGs
Abstract Views: 1562
PDF: 517
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Carlo Fraticelli
Academy of Emergency Medicine and Care (AcEMC), Pavia, Italy.

The brutal murder of 55-year-old Italian psychiatrist Barbara Capovani in April 2023, at the hands of a man she had assisted during a hospitalization four years prior, produced a wave of emotion within Italian psychiatry, with important echoes in the media. It is the death of a woman at work, a doctor, a psychiatrist, a professional of the National Health Service who has been taking care of serious mental illnesses for years. She was beaten to death by the attacker at the end of her shift at the psychiatric ward of the Santa Chiara Hospital in Pisa as she was untying her bicycle to go home. The man is now in jail on premeditated murder accusations. The day before he had gone to look for her in the hospital without success; the day of the crime he returned, dressed in dark clothes, masked with a hat on his head and a backpack on his shoulders. During his arrest, officers discovered a crossbow and some bolts in his home.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Patel V, Saxena S, Lund C, Thornicroft G, et al. The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. Lancet 2018;392:1553–98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31612-X
Palermo C, Rivetti C, Di Silverio P, Troise C (eds). Studio ANAAO-ASSOMET. Great Resignation: la grande fuga dei medici dal SSN. Available from: https://www.anaao.it/public/aaa_2916185_studiodimissioni_21aprile2022.pdf
de Girolamo G, Barale F, Politi P, Fusar-Poli P. Franco Basaglia, 1924-1980. Am J Psychiatry 2008;165:968. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.07111761
Di Mizio G, Bolcato M, Rivellini G, Di Nunzio M, et al. Protection of Prisoners with Mental Health Disorders in Italy: Lights and Shadows after the Abolition of Judicial Psychiatric Hospitals. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19:9984. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169984
Salize HJ, Dreßing H (eds). Placement and Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders. Legislation and Practice in EU Member States. Final Report. Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. February 15, 2005.
Available from: http://www.krim.dk/undersider/straffuldbyrdelse/forvaring/psykisk-afvigende-indsatte-placering-europa-eu2006.pdf

How to Cite

Fraticelli, C. (2023). The murder of a psychiatrist in Italy raises problems for all of us. Emergency Care Journal, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2023.11512
Copyright (c) 2023 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.