... Justice, Amnesty International, the British Council3 and the International Body for Prison Studies. I have created graphic representations to contextualise the information provided within a wider spectrum of evidence. Brazilian prisons display chronic overcrowding and cruel, degrading conditions of detention. In June 2003, the National Prison Administration confirmed that the total of Brazil's prison population was 248,989, whilst its official capacity was only 198,367. The occupancy level is therefore dramatically overcrowded at 143.7% (See Figure 1.1). Population rates indicate that in recent years the country has sent increasing numbers of people to prison (See Figure 1.4). Recent media exposés have covered high profile national crimes that triggered a mass public condemnation and renewed calls for more punitive sentencing. The latest data collection from 2002 showed that 92% of punishment took the form of prison sentences4, despite the recidivism rate for those people sentenced to alternatives being a mere 2%. Whilst ...

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