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Article: CHILE: DEATH AND DEGRADATION IN TROUBLED PRISONS.
- Article from:
- NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs
- Article date:
- September 25, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Benjamin Witte
A flurry of prisoner deaths has brought renewed attention to a distressing yet often-ignored reality in Chile--that left behind in the country's "miracle" rush toward First World status is a troubled prison system that the Corte Suprema de Justicia (CSJ) calls "inhuman, degrading, and cruel."
In late April, fire broke out during a riot in Colina II, a large and typically overcrowded prison on the northern outskirts of Santiago. The blaze killed 10 inmates. Less than two weeks later, in the same facility, a fight between rival gangs left two more prisoners dead.
The deadly fire prompted an investigation by the CSJ, which ...