File photo of a Brazilian prison./Netflix ‘Go to the worst prison on earth’
The Brazilian correctional authorities, who implement the ‘inmate outing system’, are on alert. This is because more than 250 of the 1,700 prisoners who were temporarily released last Christmas have not returned. Local police are tracking those who have not returned.
According to foreign media such as the BBC on the 5th (local time), 1,785 inmates serving sentences in Rio de Janeiro prison were temporarily released after receiving permission to leave for six days starting December 24, last Christmas Eve. However, it was found that 255 of them did not return by the deadline of 10 p.m. on December 30th of last year.
Brazil is implementing an outing system for prisoners so that they can spend time with their families on Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day. The purpose is to help socialize and reduce recidivism. The semi-open system allows convicts who work during the day to go out through their lawyers and the judge in charge grants permission. Judgment factors include how much of the total sentence is served and whether the person is leading an exemplary prison life. For example, first-time offenders must serve one-sixth of their sentence, and repeat offenders must serve one-fourth of their sentence to be eligible for leave.
However, as cases of non-return using the outing system continue to increase, controversy is rising over the effectiveness of the system. Among the unreturned inmates are two notorious gang leaders, one of whom committed murder and was sentenced to 18 years and 9 months in prison after being arrested in 2012.
This is not the first case of not returning after going out. According to the Rio de Janeiro State Prison, 43% of inmates who received leave in 2022 did not return to prison. Some of these people are still under wanted orders.
For this reason, the Brazilian Congress is under pressure to pass amendments to supplement the system. “Dangerous prisoners and habitual criminals should not enjoy these benefits,” said Marcio Gualberto, a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker. “Prisoner human rights are important, but their values cannot turn prisons into lodging establishments or summer camps.” did. There are also voices calling for further strengthening of regulations, such as stricter criteria for applicants to go out and mandatory installation of location tracking electronic devices (electronic anklets).
Brazilian police are considering inmates who did not return after going out to be escaped convicts and are conducting a search operation.
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2024-01-05 14:45:00
