ABSTRACT
The intersection of positivist and eugenic theories, marked by Cesare Lombroso’s biologizing definition, established the premise of the inferiority of troublesome groups and dissidents in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The effects of this supposedly scientific view of crime and the criminal reverberated in institutional practices, influencing the treatment and the place occupied by inmates. This article uses sources located between 1930 and 1960 to problematize how the effects of these theories took on different configurations and intentions. The aim is to understand prison discursive manipulation, which turns into violent action against bodies. The analysis is based on a collection of medical records of ordinary prisoners from the Florianópolis Penitentiary. These sources, which are still little explored, allow us to delve deeper into the dynamics of how Brazilian prisons functioned in the 20th century.
Keywords:
Cesare Lombroso; Penitentiary; Eugenics; Prisoner records; Prison history; Latin America