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Mom of recaptured inmate says breakout was a 'protest' of sentence

BUSTO ARSIZIO, Italy, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The mother of an inmate broken out of jail by siblings during a shootout with Italian police and later recaptured told a court the jailbreak was a protest.

Before her escaped son's arrest during the weekend, Maria Antonietta Lantone told the court in Busto Arsizio, she maintained her belief in his innocence and told him to evade capture, ANSA reported.

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Domenico Cutri, apprehended in northern Italy following a country-wide search, was serving a life sentence for ordering the death of a man who bothered his girlfriend.

Last week, a group of gunmen freed Domenico Cutri during a transfer from prison to court. The gunmen included two of Curtri's brothers, one of whom, Antonio, was fatally injured during a shootout with guards. He died in a hospital after he was dropped off with his mother. The other brother, Daniele Cutri, was captured Friday.

Lantone told the court she told Domenico Cutri to evade capture because, "Your brother sacrificed himself for you. Do not turn yourself in."

His lawyer told the court Monday Cutri was "very scared" and was being "subjected to tight security measures."

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The mother said her sons involved in Cutri's escape never meant to hurt anyone and called the breakout an act of protest, ANSA said. Several guards were injured during the escape.

"They were demonstrating against his life sentence," Lantone said.

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