Carandiru massacre
The Carandiru massacre (Massacre do Carandiru, Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈsakɾi du kɐɾɐ̃dʒiˈɾu]) took place on Friday, October 2, 1992, in Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, when military police stormed the facility following a prison riot. The massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead (102 shot by the police; 9 killed by other inmates), is considered a major human rights violation in the history of Brazil.
History
The massacre was triggered by a prisoner revolt in the prison. The prison guards made little effort to negotiate with the prisoners before the Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo stormed the facility,[1] as the prison riot became more difficult for prison guards to control. The resulting casualties were 111 prisoners killed: 102 from gunshots fired by police and nine from stab wounds apparently inflicted by other prisoners before the arrival of the police.[2] None of the sixty-eight police officers were killed. Survivors claimed that the police also fired at inmates who had already surrendered or were trying to hide in their cells.[3]
Aftermath
The commanding officer of the operation, Colonel Ubiratan Guimarães, was initially sentenced to 632 years in prison for his mishandling of the rebellion and subsequent massacre.[4] On February 16, 2006 a Brazilian court voided Guimarães' conviction because of mistrial claims; the court accepted his argument that he was only following orders.[5] Guimarães, who was also a member of the São Paulo state legislature, was assassinated in September 2006.[6]
Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), one of Brazil's most notorious gangs, is said to have been formed in 1993 as a response to the event.[7] This group is believed to be responsible for the death of José Ismael Pedrosa, director of the prison at the time.[8]
The prison was demolished on December 9, 2002.[9]
In April 2013, 23 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 156 years in jail each for the killing of 13 inmates,[10] while a further 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years in jail each for the deaths of 52 inmates in August 2013.[11] In a last trial 15 more policemen were sentenced to 48 years each in April 2014.[12] On September 2016, the court declared trial on Carandiru massacre null. [13]
In popular culture
- These events are documented in the book Estação Carandiru by Dr. Dráuzio Varella and inspired the 2003 film Carandiru.
- The massacre is the subject of the song "Manifest" on the Chaos A.D. album by Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura.[14][15][16]
- It inspired the song "Haiti" by Caetano Veloso with Gilberto Gil, protesting racial discrimination and social inequality, on their 1993 album Tropicália 2.
- It is mentioned by the group Racionais in their songs "Diario de um Detento" and "Vida Loca III", and also in the song "19 Rebellions" by the British group Asian Dub Foundation.
- This massacre inspired the US television Prison Break's season 3's main setting.
See also
References
- ↑ Anne Manuel (1998). Behind bars in Brazil. Human Rights Watch. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-56432-195-4.
- ↑ Carandiru, das Gefaengnissmassaker in Sao Paulo (Ger.), 1995, Editor: Amnesty International FDCL-Verlag, Author: Elói Pietá & Justino Pereira, ISBN 3-923020-15-5
- ↑ "Brazil jail massacre: Policeman convicted". BBC. 30 June 2001.
- ↑ "Comandante da invasão do Carandiru é morto em SP" (in Portuguese). Terra Networks. September 21, 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ↑ "Brazil annuls jail deaths verdict". BBC. February 16, 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ↑ "Polícia investiga ligações da mãe de Carla Cepollina" (in Portuguese). O Globo. September 21, 2006.
- ↑ Jaylan Boyle (June 8, 2010). "Prison Overcrowding Continues" (in Portuguese). The Rio Times. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ↑ AAP (22 April 2013). "Brazil police jailed for prison 'massacre'". The Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ↑ "vc repórter: ex-agente guarda histórias e imagens do Carandiru". Terra Networks (in Portuguese). 5 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brazil police sentenced over Carandiru jail massacre". BBC News. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ↑ "Brazil Carandiru jail massacre police guilty". BBC News. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ↑ "15 police guilty in Brazil prison killings". eNCA. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "16 Brazil declares trial on Carandiru massacre null in shocking blow for justice". Amnesty International. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ Bourgoin, Suzanne (1994). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Gale. ISBN 9780810385535.
- ↑ Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide: Heavy, NWOBH, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu. Jawbone Press. p. 421. ISBN 9781906002015.
- ↑ Anselmi, J. J. (12 April 2016). "Sepultura's 'Chaos A.D.' Is the Anti-Colonial Rallying Cry that Thrash has Always Needed". Vice. Retrieved 16 September 2016.