A Historic New Ruling Says Stealing Food Is Not a Crime — If You're Hungry

Italy's highest court of appeal ruled that stealing food is not a crime if you're hungry, according to the BBC.

The case centered on a homeless man named Roman Ostriakov who had been convicted of theft in 2015 after he stole cheese and sausages from a market in Genoa. They were worth the equivalent of $4.50. The incident happened in 2011, when a customer told security that Ostriakov had only paid for breadsticks. He was sentenced to six months in jail and a €100 fine.

The court overturned the sentence, saying, "The condition of the defendant and the circumstances in which the seizure of merchandise took place prove that he took possession of that small amount of food in the face of an immediate and essential need for nourishment, acting therefore in a state of necessity."

The Italia Globale wrote that the ruling was "historic" and pertinent and centered on a simple concept: "it is called humanity."