In the Name of the Italian People

Almost two years have passed since the beginning of the debate, and the maxi-trial is finally about to end. It's December 16, 1987: the courtroom fills up again with journalists from every country, relatives of the victims, defendants on the loose. All together, they listen to the verdict: after a two-hours-long reading, 19 life sentences and 2,665 total years of prison are adjudicate to 360 of the 474 defendants. It is a victory for prosecutors who see their accusatory system hold up, and a major defeat for Cosa Nostra, which for the first time sees its most important bosses jailed and the very existence of the organisation eventually recognised in court.