The Court of Cassation has made final the conviction to 14 years and 9 months of imprisonment for Mario Roggero, the 72-year-old jeweler from Grinzane Cavour, in the province of Cuneo, convicted of voluntary homicide and attempted homicide in connection with the events of April 28, 2021. On that day, three masked men, armed with a knife and a pistol later found to be a toy gun, broke into Roggero's jewelry store threatening the merchant, his wife, and his daughter, and taking jewelry and money. After completing the robbery, the three exited through the back of the shop to reach their getaway car. It was at that point that Roggero grabbed his own legally held pistol, chased the robbers into the parking lot, and opened fire on the fleeing vehicle. Giuseppe Mazzarino, 58, and Andrea Spinelli, 44, were killed. The third member of the group, Alessandro Modica, was injured.

The defense argued legitimate self-defense or at least putative self-defense, contending that Roggero believed he was still in danger. The first-instance, appellate, and finally the Cassation judges nonetheless excluded this premise, finding that the aggression had already ended at the time of the shooting and that no current danger existed. The sentence, redetermined on appeal to 14 years and 9 months after the 17 years imposed in the first instance by the Asti court, was fully confirmed. Roggero turned himself in at the Fossano prison. Before entering prison, he posted a video on social media declaring "It's over" and appealing to his supporters to push forward a reform of self-defense legislation.

Political reactions. Deputy Prime Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini asked President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella to grant clemency to Roggero, calling the conviction unjust and announcing the intention to continue efforts to expand self-defense regulations. General Roberto Vannacci, leader of Futuro Nazionale, organized a sit-in outside the Cassation and argued for a review of the legislation. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the conviction an injustice and urged that Roggero be spared prison. Several public figures from sports, entertainment, and music expressed solidarity with the jeweler on social media.

Nordio's initiative and the Quirinale's intervention. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio announced that he had initiated the clemency proceedings, coordinating with the Prosecutor General's office in Turin, specifying that it was an autonomous initiative. On the afternoon of July 16, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella summoned Nordio to the Quirinale to clarify the limits of the minister's authority regarding the granting of clemency. A Quirinale statement cited Constitutional Court ruling no. 200 of 2006, according to which clemency may be granted even without a request from the interested party, but the initiative may be undertaken directly by the President of the Republic, to whom the Constitution reserves this power. Quirinale sources clarified that the matter concerns method rather than merit, since the motivations of the Cassation ruling have not yet been published and therefore any discussion of clemency is premature. During the meeting, Mattarella reportedly quoted Luigi Einaudi's words on the duty of the President of the Republic to avoid precedents that could undermine the constitutional prerogatives of the head of state.

The opposition criticized the minister's initiative. M5S members of the Justice committees spoke of political speculation. PD Justice spokesperson Debora Serracchiani declared that Nordio demonstrates inadequacy and renewed the call for his resignation, also asking whether Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been informed of the minister's initiative.

According to a journalistic reconstruction cited by some media, Nordio's initiative was prompted by the Prime Minister to contain Vannacci's political moves on the case; this reconstruction is not however confirmed by official sources.

Self-defense legislation. Article 52 of the Penal Code, as amended by law no. 36 of 2019, establishes that a person who commits an act to defend their own or another's right, when compelled by necessity to repel an unjust aggression, is not punishable. The 2019 reform strengthened protections for home defense, introducing a presumption of proportionality when the aggression occurs in a dwelling, including workplaces such as shops. The law also introduced a reference to grave disturbance, which excludes punishability for culpable excess of self-defense in cases of particular emotional alteration caused by an ongoing danger. However, a connection between the state of disturbance and a danger that is still present remains necessary, an element that in the Roggero case the judges ruled out.

Roggero's lawyers, Stefano Marcolini and Sergio Rovani, expressed surprise and disappointment and did not rule out an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, pending the publication of the sentence's motivations.