Pena e perdono

This paper focuses on the essence of forgiveness, understood as a waiver of revenge and the interest in a future no longer stigmatized by evil for those who committed it, and points out a notion of this concept that concerns the basic profiles of a criminal policy that is not pervaded by the logic of punitive demagogyand instead is compliant with the constitutional principles. Far from being a behavioural criterion that is merely based on religious principles or implies inaction against crimes, any reference to forgiveness requires to move away from the static nature of Retributive Justice and to open up to a project-oriented and inspirational vision of prevention so that the criteria for “doing justice” take on theopposite connotations as compared to those underlying the offence.