Association of Families and Friends of Prison Inmates in Bahia (ASFAP-BA)
Quilombo X – Reduction of sentences and parole for inmates at the Lemos de Brito Penitentiary
Bahia
This mission of ASFAP is to empower the action by families and friends of prison inmates to ensure their rights and interests, especially in relation to sentencing and monitoring of prison sentences, limitations of rights, parole, suspended sentences, case review, and due process, through legal aid and political interventions.
In addition to visiting prison facilities and proposing appropriate measures to the respective authorities in cases of possible irregularities, the association seeks material and human resources to better assist inmates; monitors the agencies in charge of prison policy and implementation of prison system activities; attends hearings with the participation of technical experts and representatives of public and private organizations; files complaints with the respective authorities in cases of violation of due process and/or curtailment of inmates’ rights; provides social and psychological assistance to inmates and their families, as well as to victims of false or unjust convictions; fosters community participation in the implementation of alternative sentences and measures; contributes to the monitoring of sentences; and gives talks on drug addiction and the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.
According to ASFAP, Brazil currently has a prison population of nearly 300 thousand in some 1,435 institutions across the country (Depen/MJ, 2004). Approximately 60% of these individuals are serving time without having exhausted their right to appeal their conviction. Due to the increasing incarceration rate, the Brazilian prison population is growing proportionally faster than the country’s free population.
According to estimates, half of the inmates at the Lemos de Brito Penitentiary in Salvador, Bahia, have already served the time stipulated in their sentences or could already have benefited from reduction in their sentences or parole. According to ASFAP, this situation is part of a centuries-old practice consolidated by what some social scientists refer to as institutional racism (Akotirene, 2008).
According to the Association, recent criminology studies in Brazil (Frauzina, 2006) have identified race as a factor that affects the probability of a person being arrested, indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced for committing a given crime, thereby fueling a continuous process of criminalization, a cycle of investigation, indictment, imprisonment, and beatings and/or murders, backed by racial criteria for control and punishment.
The Project
To continue to develop this work, ASFAP proposes the project Quilombo X – Reduction of Sentences and Parole for Inmates at the Lemos de Brito Penitentiary. The specific aim is to provide legal status to the Association by registering it as a legal entity, with its own tax identification number.
The proposal is to register the ASFAP bylaws with the notary public and establish a physical space, a headquarters, to receive and process complaints, serving also as a place where families and friends of inmates can network to defend their specific rights and interests.
ASFAP will also seek to ensure the basic conditions for its infrastructure and intensify (through a partnership with the State Office of the Public Defender) class action for granting reduction of sentences or release in the case of inmates that have served their time or are eligible to appeal for reduced sentences or even parole.
Funding Line
Annual Call for Proposals
Year
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Total Granted
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Duration
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Main Themes
Guaranteeing the rule of law and criminal justice