THE REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS IN LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF HUMANIZING PUNISHMENTS

Abstract

This is a final course project prepared by the graduates under the supervision of their advisor, which, after review, was adjusted to the structure of a book chapter. This research aims to study the institution of punishment in the Brazilian legal system, analyzing its legal nature and its functions that transcend the merely retributive character, reaching preventive, reparative, and resocializing dimensions. It examines the constitutional principle of the humanization of punishment, provided for in Article 5 of the 1988 Federal Constitution and regulated by the Penal Execution Law (Law No. 7.210/84), confronting it with the practical reality of a prison system marked by overcrowding, institutional violence, the presence of criminal factions, and insufficient public policies aimed at social reintegration. Based on the theoretical contributions of Michel Foucault and Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, it seeks to understand the structural and political limits that prevent the full effectiveness of resocialization, highlighting that, although the legislation ensures fundamental rights, its realization encounters barriers in the structural crisis of the prison system. The methodology adopted is qualitative and exploratory, based on bibliographic and documentary research, with analysis of national legislation, international treaties, and doctrinal reference works. It is concluded that the construction of a fairer and more efficient penal system depends on overcoming material and institutional deficiencies, the effective application of the principle of individualization and humanization of punishment, and the implementation of public policies that guarantee the convicted person real conditions for a dignified return to society.