OVERCROWDING IN THE BRAZILIAN PRISON SYSTEM

Abstract

The Brazilian prison system is experiencing a structural crisis marked by overcrowding, precarious conditions of incarceration, and the state's inability to ensure the dignity of those deprived of their liberty. The country has one of the largest prison populations in the world, driven by punitive penal policies, the excessive use of pretrial detention, and the restricted application of alternative measures. This scenario is aggravated by judicial delays, a historical deficit of prison spaces, and the absence of consistent resocialization policies, which compromises the constitutional purpose of punishment. Penal selectivity shows that young, Black, and poor people are the most affected, revealing the persistence of structural inequalities. This qualitative and bibliographical research analyzes the causes and consequences of overcrowding, as well as existing public policies and possible strategies for its mitigation. It concludes that addressing mass incarceration requires legislative reforms, strengthening of the criminal justice system, expansion of alternative penalties, and implementation of effective social reintegration programs, in order to guarantee respect for human rights and the effectiveness of the resocializing function of penal execution. Prison overcrowding. Mass incarceration. Penal execution. Human rights. The Brazilian prison system.