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Guilty Brazilian Prison Guards Finally Convicted in 1992 Jail Massacre

Guilty Brazilian Prison Guards Finally Convicted in 1992 Jail Massacre

by Derek Gilna

Justice was slow in coming for the families and friends of some of the 111 Brazilian prisoners at now-demolished Sao Paulo Carandiru prison who were killed during a prison revolt on October 2, 1992. Although prison authorities had maintained that deadly force had been necessary to control the riot, further investigation showed that many of the guards had fired on prisoners who had already surrendered or were hiding in their cells. Those same guards then tried to destroy the evidence of their wrongdoing.

In a hotly-contested trial, twenty-three of the guards were sentenced in April 2013 to 156 years each for taking part in the killing of 15 of the 111 who died on that date. The commanding officer of the guards, Colonel Ubiratan Guimares, had been convicted and sentenced to 532 years for his role in the killings, but that verdict was overturned in 2006.

Guimares was found dead in his apartment that same year.

Atila Roque, Brazil’s director of Amnesty International, said, “This trial must be a turning point. For years, the delay in bringing those responsible for the Carandiru massacre to justice has been a cloud hanging over the whole country. We hope that now this impunity is finally coming to an end.

In the aftermath of the prisoner massacre, a criminal gang operating from the Brazilian prison system, known as PCC, or First Command of the Capital, has been able to use the incident to galvanize violent elements outside the prison to carry out a string of killings targeting former prison guards, officials, police stations, and public transportation in Brazil, which have left a total of at least 170 dead.

Hopefully, with the guilty verdicts and stiff sentences handed down against the perpetrators of the prison guard misconduct, the prison system and country can put this sad chapter behind them.

 

See: “Brazilian Police sentenced for prison ‘massacre,” by Gerald Aziakou, April 22, 2013.

See also: “Brazil police sentenced for 1992 Carandiru prison ‘massacre,” http://timessofindia.indiatimes.com, April 21, 2013.

 

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