June 22, 1962, the four laypeople were found guilty of extortion and manslaughter, with Azzolina and Salemmi receiving sentences of up to 30 years and Nicoletti receiving 14 years. Lo Bartolo was dead at the time, but his role was acknowledged. The friars were discharged because of Carnelutti's defense. The sentence was well received by the high-ups of the Catholic hierarchy, but many jurists and citizens were outraged. Giovanni Leone, a preeminent jurist and then Speaker of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, decided to speak out against the sentence, while also wanting to avoid hurting his relations with his peers at the Democrazia Cristiana. In a letter to the magazine Epoca, he attacked the "state of necessity" exception brought by the court, and wrote that any gentlemen, whatever his dress, knows how not to get involved with the Mafia. Sentence revisions On July 6, 1963, the Appeal Court of Perugia revised the sentence, finding three of the four friars guilty of extortion, manslaughter, violence and simulation of a crime, sentencing each to 13 years. Father Vittorio was discharged again. The typewriter used in the ransom letters was proven to be Vittorio's, but he proved that he usually left it unattended outside his room. On February 10, 1965, the Corte di Cassazione found procedural faults in the proceedings, and restarted the trial. The new trial ended with sentences of 8 years for Father Venanzio and Agrippino, 14 years for Nicoletti, 17 for Salemi and 24 for Azzolina. Father Carmelo, over 80 years old, had died a few months earlier, on December 12, 1964. The sentence was confirmed on September 30, 1967. The friars were set free because of remissions and good behavior on July 5, 1969. Being compromised, Agrippino left for Peru, while Venanzio came back to Mazzarino in bad health, dying on February 11, 1970. References Capuchins Italian male criminals Scandals in Italy Extortionists