Stealing small quantities of food to satisfy a vital need or to stave off hunger does not constitute a crime, Italy’s highest court of appeal has ruled.

Mr Ostriakov, a homeless man of Ukrainian background, had taken food (cheese and sausages worth at least four dollars) from a supermarket “in the face of an essential and immediate need for nourishment”, the court of cassation decided.

Therefore, it was not a crime, it said.

Bringing this motivating story home, where a man is lynched for stealing food that isn’t worth more than a dollar, I really wish this ruling could be implemented here though.

In times of economic hardship, even in a civilized country, the worst of men shouldn’t starve.

“I agree with the judgement of the court of cassation, the right to survival prevails over poverty.”

@mideblack (#Nytcrawler)