THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE SANCTIONS IN THE FACE OF THE FAILURE OF THE TRADITIONAL PRISON MODEL

Abstract

This article analyzes the inadequacy of imprisonment as an instrument of rehabilitation in the Brazilian context and argues for the superiority of non-custodial sanctions, especially restrictive penalties. First, it examines the historical development of punishment, from vengeance and corporal suffering to the centrality of the modern prison. It then demonstrates that rehabilitation, under Brazilian law, constitutes both a prisoner’s guarantee and a purpose of penal execution, although the national prison system operates amid institutional violence, overcrowding, rights violations, and the stigmatization of former prisoners. The study also addresses criminal recidivism and social stigma as indicators of the prison’s failure to promote social reintegration. Finally, it analyzes the legal framework of restrictive penalties and argues that, by preserving family, community, and work ties and reducing exposure to the harms of incarceration, these sanctions are more consistent with human dignity and with the rehabilitative purpose of punishment in contemporary Brazil.