A 55-year-old woman from Ercolano who is serving a life sentence for a Camorra-related murder has earned a degree from the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio.
Metropolisweb identifies the graduate as Enrichetta Cordua and reports that she discussed her thesis in the Education and Training Sciences programme. The thesis was titled "Una finestra sul mondo attraverso la tecnologia e l'istruzione in carcere: un ponte tra offline e online," focusing on technology and education in prison.
Cordua is described in the report as a justice collaborator serving life imprisonment. According to investigators cited in the article, she became the leader of the Birra-Iacomino clan, which operated in the Vesuvian area.
The article reports that she was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2015 for the murder of Gennarino Brisciano and began collaborating with justice authorities in February 2016. Those descriptions reflect judicial claims reported by the local press, not independent findings.
A degree earned in detention
The degree was completed through the University of Cassino's prison-university programme, with cooperation from the prison administration. The report does not specify the prison where Cordua was held.
According to the article, the university has 60 incarcerated students and had previously awarded degrees to other detainees. Cordua's graduation was described as its first graduation by a female prisoner.
The case was reported on 20 October 2026. No university announcement or judicial record confirming the details was cited in the available reporting.