There is no logic in placing someone condemned for the first time with hardened criminals'. The Pastoral Office for Prisoners identified four principal reasons for rebellions in a survey which it recently carried out. The purposes of prisons are to punish, prevent crime and re-socialize. At the moment only the punishment aspect functions. It is time to have alternative forms of sentences in this country.
Prison is a final resource for serious crimes.
At the moment it is the only resource' commented Father Reardon. Judge Antonio Carlos Ribeiro had issued a court order for the removal of 440 families who had occupied the apartments on May 03. 14 high-rise blocks being built by the state government at this location contain 448 apartments. The confrontation between police and squatters took place just over an hour later and lasted approximately 45 minutes. The police however managed to surround the homeless who claim that the arrest and beating of one of their leaders, Nelson Daniel da Silva, provoked a reaction on their part.