In Justice, In Prison, In Rio Statement /

The photographs of men behind bars were taken in Polinter Prison in Rio de Janeiro in 2005. I was allowed into the prison for less than an hour with a photographer colleague from a local newspaper who was not allowed to work there herself but had been allowed to bring me. I was told that the Governor of the prison was so appalled by the conditions that she wanted them recorded but not for publication locally due to the politically sensitive nature of the issue of prisons, crime and the poor in Rio. 

Ninety-six men were kept in a cell of 25 square metres originally designed for 16 inmates. The men slept in 4 vertical layers of hammocks suspended from the bars and the longest serving men occupied the highest-strung hammocks; the short timers slept on the floor. The longest-serving inmate in 2005 had been there for 5 years and the crimes these men committed varied from non-payment of alimony to murder. In the summer months the temperatures inside the cell reached 50 degrees Celsius.

The photographs of the evangelist Pastor Marcos exorcising the devil from prisoners were taken in late 2007 in a police detention centre in Rio de Janeiro. Pastor Marcos has made quite a name for himself saving the souls of the poorest people in society short on hope, particularly in prisons.

Prisoners in Rio tend to be from the poorest elements of society, often from the favelas (slums), have poor legal representation and are sometimes held without trial for years. Many of them are migrant workers and they and their families have no vote, no political representation and are marginalised by the social and political elite of the city. Crime levels in Rio are very high and open gun battles in the centre of the city are not uncommon.

Gary Knight