THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE BRAZILIAN PRISON SYSTEM: THE STRUCTURAL VIOLATION OF HUMAN DIGNITY AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Abstract

The work presents a critical view of the Brazilian penitentiary system, considering the historical evolution of punishment and the principle of human dignity, and demonstrates that deprivation of liberty is not synonymous with the loss of fundamental rights. In Brazil, the prison population is growing, and serious human rights violations persist, resulting from overcrowding, structural precariousness, and state omission, which undermines the rehabilitative function of the sentence. Based on the contemporary political, social, and legal movement and the Constitution, the configuration of the Unconstitutional State of Things in the prison system is affirmed, authorizing the Judiciary to act to ensure the safeguarding of the fundamental rights of incarcerated individuals.