Bill on criminal law goes against constitution and international treaties
According to organisations working in the area, the bill hinders social reintegration and means an increase in violations caused by mass incarceration.
Civil society organisations argue that bill of law 7.223/2006, regarding criminal law issues, setting out a new set of disciplinary rules on security, goes against the Federal Constitution and International Treaties signed by Brazil. Among the principal errors in the bill is the change in time for fulfilling a sentence for conditional prison, from the current ⅙ or 16.7% of the full sentence, to between 20% and 75%, depending on the type of conviction. Organisations stress that the current time limits are not abided by and the new set of disciplinary rules could, in practice, end conditional freedom, an important mechanism for stimulating prisoners’ reintegration into society.
According to the organisations, the bill of law does not take into account the impact that its implementation could have on the policy of mass incarceration. They say the Brazilian prison population has increased by 575% in the last two decades and that Brazil is the country with the third highest number of prisoners in the world. The bill makes rational solutions to the prison crisis in Brazil unviable and could aggravate the scenario of violence, not only in the prisons, increasing violations against people in prison and their families, but also outside, affecting those who work in the prison system and their families, as well as society as a whole, which is impacted by bills that, instead of fighting violence, actually intensify it.
Conectas and another 14 organisations have signed the letter.
