About five o’clock on July 5, 1980, while the Onedas were at a friend’s house, two carabinieri arrested them. They just had time to leave their second child, three-month-old Ester, with friends.

They were taken to the local prison of Cagliari, called The Right Pathway (what irony!), one of the vilest in Italy. They were shut up in cells in different parts of the prison.

How Could They Be Convicted of Murder?

For 20 months this humble couple were kept locked up. Finally a trial was held, and on March 10, 1982, the Assizes Court of Cagliari issued its shocking verdict: It held that Giuseppe and Consiglia Oneda were guilty of deliberate murder. The sentence? Fourteen years in prison, more than what is given to many terrorists!

You can understand why that verdict caused a stir throughout Italy and was criticized by many legal experts. The case was appealed, but on December 13, 1982, the Cagliari Appeal Court of Assizes confirmed the previous verdict. All it did was reduce the sentence to nine years, claiming that the Onedas were given the benefit of extenuating circumstances since ‘they had acted on motives of particular moral value.’

The only chance left before the courts of human justice was an appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation. On July 8, 1983, Giuseppe Oneda was released on parole because the three years of suffering in prison had dangerously undermined his health. But Consiglia was kept in prison.

[Picture on page 9]

Consiglia Oneda leaving prison and rejoining her daughter Ester