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«Today we cannot say that we won. Whoever loses a sixteen year old son, killed for no reason, never wins. However, we can say that today a page of justice was written.” Thus begins the message spread by Antonio and Marisa Di Dio, parents of the young Giuseppe Di Dio, in the aftermath of the sentence which concludes one of the most painful chapters of the judicial affair linked to the death of their son.
In the long speech, the family underlines how no judicial decision will ever be able to fill the void left by the boy’s disappearance. «No one will give Giuseppe back to us. No sentence will be able to bring home the smile of an extraordinary boy, his dreams, his voice, the future that was taken from him. This is a wound destined to never heal.”
“The state has done its duty”
The parents also remember the moments of greatest apprehension experienced during the proceedings, marked by the fear that the legal framework of the facts could change and affect the outcome of the trial.
«It’s true, there was a moment when we were afraid. Fear that our son’s death could be downplayed, that his name could end up crushed under the weight of legal interpretations that we struggled to understand. The hypothesis of a declassification of the contested crimes and the possibility that the benefits provided by the alternative procedure could have such a significant impact on the trial were, for us, a second wound”.
Hence the passage that contains the meaning attributed to the sentence: “Today we can say that the State has done its duty.” A decision which, they explain, “does not heal the wound, does not fill an unbridgeable void, but restores dignity to the truth”, remembering that “those who choose violence must fully assume the consequences”. «This is what we have always asked. Not revenge, but justice.”
Thanks to lawyers, associations, the press and politics
In the message, Antonio and Marisa Di Dio thank their family, friends, associations and those who have supported the family during these months, also remembering those who promoted public initiatives, such as the torchlight procession, and those who showed closeness with a gesture or a word.
Particular thanks are addressed to the lawyers Giovanni Palermo and Antonino Grippaldi, defined as protagonists of a battle faced “as a personal mission”, and to the lawyers Mazzara, Scillia and Timpanaro, lawyers for the other civil parties.
Words of gratitude also for the media, “who continued to tell Joseph’s story without allowing silence to take the place of the truth”, and for the world of politics.
The message mentions parliamentarians Maria Stefania Marino and Simona Loizzo, who are thanked for bringing the matter to the attention of Parliament. A particular reference is made to Loizzo, to whom the family recognizes a closeness demonstrated “as if he were a family member”.
«Joseph has not been forgotten»
The parents’ reflection ends with a final thought addressed to their son.
«From today we will continue to live with the same pain as always. But with one more certainty: Joseph has not been forgotten and justice has demonstrated that the truth, even when the path is long and difficult, can still find its way.” The message ends with a dedication: «For Giuseppe. For us. For everyone. For truth and justice.”