By unanimous decision, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) overturned the law that provided for special prison for those with higher education degrees.
The ministers followed the understanding of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the action filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which questioned the benefit provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP). According to Article 295, item VII, of the CPP, individuals with a higher education diploma from any Brazilian university are entitled to special imprisonment, and cannot be placed in a common cell with other inmates.
For Moraes, there is no justification for differentiated treatment based on educational level.
“This is, in fact, a discriminatory measure that promotes the categorization of prisoners and, with that, further strengthens inequalities, especially in a nation where only 11.30% of the general population has completed higher education and where only 5.65% of black or brown individuals have graduated from a university. In other words, the legislation benefits precisely those who are already more socially favored, who have already obtained an unequivocal privilege of access to a university,” stated the rapporteur.
Moreover, the provision was not embraced by the Constitution. The original text dates back to 1941.
Moraes further argued that the Federal Constitution, the CPP, and the Law on Penitentiary Executions (LEP) provide different treatments for prisoners in specific situations, such as the nature of the crime, age, and gender. The measure, according to the minister, aims to prevent the coexistence of men and women in the same prison, the influence of convicted prisoners on other inmates, and the protection of children and adolescents.
“In all these cases, the aim is to provide greater protection to the physical and moral integrity of prisoners who, due to their exceptional characteristics, are in a more vulnerable situation,” he emphasized.
Source: Agência Brasil
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