http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~forks/TNmain.htm
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> Negri Update, 10 May 1998
>
> Toni Negri remains in Rebibbia prison in Rome and his personal situation
> has not changed significantly since he returned to Italy almost a year
> ago. He has requested to begin a procedure that leads toward parole but
> as yet his requests have not been granted. The procedure involves a
> series of stages of greater freedom and the stages can vary depending
> on the discretion of the parole judge. In many cases, the inmate is
> first granted one or two furloughs of 2 days each, and if all goes well
> he or she can request a limited external work arrangement (designated
> article 21) which allows the inmate to leave the prison several days a
> week under strict surveillance. If that goes well and if the inmate has
> completed at least half of the sentence, he or she can ask for a more
> liberal external work arrangement with less surveillance. The final
> stage is parole.
>
> In January 1998 Negri's parole judge, Longo, refused his request for the
> first stage on the basis of the police report that claimed he posed a
> danger of fleeing. The appeal of Judge Longo's decision was also
> refused. Negri is now waiting for a decision on his second request. It
> appears that the police have filed no report this time and thus they
> pose no obstacle. The best-case scenario would be that judge Longo
> grants a furlough and moves quickly to the restricted external work
> arrangement.
>
> One complication is that Negri has just been convicted of a new charge
> in Milan (again relating to events in the 1970s) that could add over 3
> years to his sentence. The sum of his old sentences, which originally
> totaled over 30 years, had over time been reduced to just over 9
> years. Counting the 4 years 3 months he served before leaving for
> France, this past year had taken him over the half-way point. With
> the addition of the new Milan conviction he will have to wait an extra
> period before reaching the half-way point again and being eligible for
> the more liberal external work arrangement.
>
> The prospects for a collective political solution have not advanced
> significantly either. Italian politicians continue to discuss the
> possibility of an amnesty or an "indulto" (a reduction of the extra
> sentences for political crimes), but there is no sign that they will
> act soon.