In this article, the author exposes some of the social conditions that intensify the suffering of prisoners in the State of Sao Paulo, presenting as well structural aspects of the processing regime which organizes the course of penalties in Sao Paulo prisons. Supported by a research based on bibliographical, documentary and ethnographic aspects, the article suggests that the opacity of the justice system, the illegibility of the legal proceedings and, especially, the indeterminacy in the quality and length of the sentences are elements that contribute to generate a particular experience of time and punishment within the prisons of the State. Furthermore, it also suggests that such experience is indexed to a social dynamics that goes far beyond the prisons walls. Such considerations are aimed to deepen the critique of the contemporary prison as a mere containment device.
Prison; Sao Paulo; Suffering; Legal Proceedings; Mobilization