On February 7, 2010 Angelo Ferreira da Silva, sentenced to 15 years in prison for the brutal murder of TV Globo reporter Tim Lopes in 2002, went out of the main door of the prison located in Bangu, Rio de Janeiro state, and never returned. He had received the benefit of sentence reduction in May 2009, going from having to remain behind bars to being able to come and go in what is known as the semi-open system. His escape, however, was only communicated to the Criminal Court on March 3 and then on May 21 of this year new imprisonment order was issued.

This is the second person convicted of Lopes’ murder to flee taking advantage of the same parole.

The first to abscond was Elizeu Felicio de Souza. Sentenced to 23 years and six months in prison for having tortured the journalist before he was killed, he served one-sixth of his sentence and also was granted the semi-open benefit. He fled from the Edgar Costa Penitentiary, located in the town of Niterói, in July 2007 while on a visit to his home.

Similar situations occur throughout Brazil. Paulo Sérgio Mendes Lima, the only person so far convicted of the murder of radio host Ronaldo Santana de Araújo, committed on October 9, 1997 in Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, also had his sentence reduced. In May 2008 he left the prison to work outside, and never went back.

The criteria for grant of this benefit were questioned by experts taking part in the forum titled “Shortcomings and Gaps in Justice” How to Prevent Impunity in Crimes Against Journalists” which was held on May 18, 2010 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Rio de Janeiro State Attorney Viviane Tavares Henriques, who had handled the Tim Lopes case, recalled that the Federal Congress on March 28, 2007 passed Law 11,464, which authorizes parole even in cases of horrendous crimes and sets new terms for reduction of sentence – two-fifths of sentence served by first-time offenders and three-fifths for repeat offenders. “In the case of sentencing the judge will rule if the person convicted shall be able to appeal while at liberty,” the law says.

The previous legislation stipulated that one-sixth of the sentence had to be served, as happens with those charged in the murder of Tim Lopes. The State Attorney makes this calculation: one of those sentenced to 23 years and six months in prison would end up only three years and nine months behind bars, from then on being able to take advantage of the semi-open system, with the right to go out and visit his home periodically and take training courses outside the prison. For this it is sufficient to serve the minimum time and receive a statement of good behavior from the prison governor.

And this is the other thing that the State Attorney criticizes: Law 10,792 of December 2003 amended the Criminal Enforcement Law which required that the prisoner undergo a criminological examination (with a psychologist and psychiatrist) in order to be granted parole. That requirement no longer exists. “The current law encourages impunity, principally in the carrying out of the punishment,” Henriques declared.