Prisoners Kill Inmate to Protest Crowded Jail
Prisoners held a “death lottery” and executed the loser to protest overcrowding and poor living conditions in a jail here, police said Friday.
Police Inspector Rosemarie Goncalves de Freitas said prisoners on Thursday strangled 27-year-old Marcelo de Pietro, who was serving a 31-year sentence for rape and murder in Santo Andre, a suburb of Sao Paulo.
Nearly 400 inmates were locked up in the Santo Andre jail. It was built to hold 96 prisoners. In De Pietro’s cell, 47 inmates were kept in a space intended for six.
On Friday, 36 inmates were transferred to other prisons to prevent further executions.
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