Event discusses solutions to the public safety and prison system crisis in Brazil
The first weeks of 2018 were marked by three riots in the Brazilian prison system. The tragic deaths were a flashback of 2017, when more than 100 inmates were killed. In an effort to understand the role of the Executive and Judiciary Branches amidst the public safety and prison system crisis, FGV’s Rio de Janeiro Law School (Direito Rio) will host the event titled ‘Ministry of Public Safety and Federal Intervention: the role of the Executive and Judiciary branches in solving the prison system crisis’, on March 16, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the 8th floor hall of FGV’s main office (Praia de Botafogo, 190. Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro/RJ).
Among the event’s guests are Joana Monteiro (Institute of Public Safety of Rio de Janeiro), Arthur Trindade M. Costa (Brazilian Public Safety Forum), Gabriela Tabet de Almeida (Operational Support Center of the Criminal Execution Prosecutors’ Offices), and Marlon Barcellos (Penitentiary System Center of the Rio de Janeiro Public Defender’s Office). The debate will also be attended by Direito Rio professors Michael Freitas Mohallem (Center for Justice and Society), André Mendes (Legal Practice Center), Rogerio Sganzerla (Center for Technology and Society), and Juliana Cesário Alvim Gomes (Fellows in Rio Program).
The event will discuss the riots and massacres in Brazilian prisons over decades. In addition to the deaths, the daily life inside Brazilian prisons is marked by violations of the rights of inmates, correctional officers, and family members. In parallel to this situation, there is a significant growth of strategic litigation in Brazil and the Inter-American Human Rights System, in addition to the number of lawsuits that question the shortcomings of the Brazilian prison system in search of decent conditions of incarceration.
The recent debates in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) point to an acknowledgment of the situation’s severity and the responsibilities of the Judiciary to overcome this issue. Beyond prison walls, the public safety crisis is also taking a turn for the worse. The recent federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro and creation of the Ministry of Public Safety triggered a debate regarding the Federal Government’s role and competence to structurally intercede in the reality of the states.
Besides discussing the role of the Executive and Judiciary branches in this context, participants will also outline the reasons of the low impact of changing jurisprudence in the reality of prisons, and seek solutions to a historic crisis, neglected by the State and by society.
Go to the website to learn more about the event.
