Penal therapy?

Authors

  • Elias Boainain Júnior Universidade de Taubaté, Unitau, Brasil

Keywords:

Penal therapy, Prison system, Criminological examination, Prison, Abolitionism

Abstract

The article criticizes the idea of "penal therapy" as a paradox between punishment and treatment, and questions the role of technical teams in the prison system. The author, a prison psychologist, argues that prison does not rehabilitate but manufactures criminals, serving as an instrument of social control and perpetuation of the status quo. He denounces that technical reports, instead of evaluating the sentenced person, carry out a trial in absentia without defense, violating procedural guarantees. He concludes that technical action, however good, does not transform the prison system into a therapeutic project, only mitigates its pathologizing effects, making it necessary to invest in alternatives to prison and community programs, or openly assume punishment without pseudoscientific disguises.

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Author Biography

Elias Boainain Júnior, Universidade de Taubaté, Unitau, Brasil

Psicólogo da Penitenciária "Dr. Edgard Magalhães Noronha", de Tremembé-SP e Professor de Psicologia da Universidade de Taubaté-SP.

References

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Published

1994-10-01

How to Cite

BOAINAIN JÚNIOR, Elias. Penal therapy?. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 8, n. 8, p. 52–56, 1994. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3337. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.
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