Transformations, continuities, and tensions: the res universe in the contemporary Brazilian prison system

Abstract

The present doctoral research project falls within the scope of studies on the Brazilian prison system, its transformations, disputes and the relational set of individuals that are part of it. More specifically, the discussion in which this project seeks to insert concerns the rehabilitative and reintegrating ideal in dialogue with the idea of a punitive turn, through the hypothesis of transformations in the prison system and the entry of certain rights and benefits in the Brazilian prison that point to a possible change in the way the incarcerated population is conceived by state bodies, laws, public policies and civil society itself, which would treat it, even if in an incipient way, as a social group also subject to rights. . The key to enter this discussion will be the res universe, which refers to the concepts of reintegration, resocialization, re-education, treatment and disciplining through penalty remission policies in Brazil, more specifically, in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina. For this, the remission of penalty will be pursued from its legal dimension through the proposals of projects in the Legislative Assemblies, Chamber of Deputies and normative texts, going through the existing programs in each of the states, with regard to the number of prisoners participants, durability of remission programs, application processes and time of penalty remitted and accepted by the judges of the respective criminal execution courts; to finally reach its beneficiaries through interviews with alumni of such programs, in order to carry out a comparative analysis between the two states. Thus, we seek to answer whether there were changes that allowed the rise of discourse and prison policies that shape it and how they took place.