Shocker: Mass pardon leads to crime wave in Italy

File under "mushy-headed liberal ideas gone bad": Robberies soar as Italy frees 15,000 inmates

Armed robberies of Italian banks and building societies have soared after a controversial prisoner amnesty in the country's crowded jails.

Last year's indulto, or pardon, for prisoners with less than three years left to serve caused uproar.

More than 15,000 inmates were released. Within hours, dozens had been arrested and sent back to jail after reoffending. New crime figures have again fuelled the controversy.

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There were 194 bank robberies nationwide in the month before the amnesty was introduced last July. After the law was passed by Romano Prodi's centre-Left [Apparently, 'centre-left' in Italy means 'far left' everywhere else. --ed.] coalition that figure rose steadily, peaking at 332 in October - at an average of more than 10 a day.

Silly lefties.