Remission of sentence by reading in Rio de Janeiro: possibilities and advances

Abstract

In this paper, we present a mapping of activities involved in reading sentence remission project, developed in prison units in Rio de Janeiro. Currently, three institutions are responsible for these activities conduction: Unirio (Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro), operating in male and female deprivation units, Associação Elas Existem, charged with transgender women practices and UFRRJ (Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro), working in a unit where former military police officers and so-called militiamen are serving sentences. The aims of this study are to check the activities carried out progress in remissions granted numbers; to identify main types of literary work reading types in the three groups and considering projects coordinators perceptions. For this, methodologically, we analyze institutions documents and undertake open interviews with the mentioned subjects. In addition, we analyzed theme relevant legislation, emphasizing there is no amendment to the LEP (Law of Penal Execution), for mandatory practice: CNJ 44 recommendation  and  DEPEN (Penitentiary Department) Joint Ordinance 276. It is observed initially, despite the resistance to these actions, carried out in partnership with SEAP (Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration), redeemed days number grows, but training readers and authors proposal effects display greater complexities, worthing further analysis. As a partial outcome, however, we verified some tensions between the possibility of remission through reading and the punitive perspective of the penitentiary realm, in addition to the lack of systematization of information on the referred practices.