Editing Pentito (section)

== Criticism ==
In Italy, ''pentiti'' have come under criticism because of the favours they receive and because they would invent stories to receive benefits; they would invent stories to persecute people they do not like; their employment is seen as a reward for criminals, instead of a punishment; and they would be unreliable since they come from a criminal organization. Criticism comes most often from politicians,{{Who|date=April 2010}} especially when they or an associate of theirs is under investigation for connections to [[Sicilian Mafia|the Mafia]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} It is therefore interpreted by some as an attempt to discredit one's own accusers, instead of a genuine preoccupation of the common citizen's [[civil right]]s. [[Luciano Violante]], a politician and former president of the Italian [[Antimafia Commission]], countered that "We do not find information about the Mafia among [[nun]]s."<ref>Luciano Violante, ''Non è la piovra: Dodici tesi sulle mafie italiane'' ("It is not the octopus: twelve theses on Italian Mafias"), [[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore|Einaudi]], 1994, {{ISBN|88-06-13401-9}}.</ref>

Laws have been passed that bar ''pentiti'' from obtaining substantial benefits unless their revelations are later deemed new material, and lead to concrete results. The State can collect revelations only for six months after the initial intention to collaborate, after which they cannot be used in court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Alessio |first=Valeria |date=2017-07-24 |title=Il "pentito": dissidio interiore tra onore, rispetto verso il clan e senso di giustizia |url=https://www.iusinitinere.it/pentito-dissidio-interiore-onore-rispetto-verso-clan-senso-giustizia-4319 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Ius in itinere |language=it-IT |quote=il pentito ha un tempo massimo di sei mesi per dire tutto quello che sa, il tempo inizia a decorrere dal momento in cui il pentito dichiara la sua disponibilità a collaborare; [a "pentito" has 6 months to say everything he knows, from the declaration of intent to collabolate;]}}</ref> This has had the effect of reducing the appeal of becoming a ''pentito'' since a single mafia associate does not know whether his knowledge will be useful to the prosecutors at the time of defection. Defection from the mafia in Italy have subsequently sharply reduced from the height reached in the early nineties, and results in the fight against mafia have reduced{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} accordingly.