Carandiru Penitentiary was a notorious prison [1]located in São Paulo, Brazil. The prison was designed and built by Samuel das Neves in 1920, when it was considered a model-prison to meet the new demands of the 1890 criminal code. It was operational from 1956 to 2002 and, at its peak, was South America's largest penitentiary, housing over 8,000 inmates. In 1992 it was the site of the Carandiru massacre.
Drauzio Varella, a noted Brazilian physician, volunteered as an unpaid physician in Carandiru from 1989 to 2001, in particular to address its AIDS epidemic. He wrote a book, Estação Carandiru (English: Carandiru Station), describing his own experiences there and the dreadful conditions of the inmates. The book was later made into a movie (Carandiru, directed by Hector Babenco), and both were highly regarded by critics and the public. The remains of the penitentiary are now open to public, and it is accessible via Carandiru Subway Station (Estação Carandiru).
A song of Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura, "Manifest", from the Chaos AD album talks about the 1992 rebellion in Carandiru.
The Carandiru Penitentiary is the inspiration for the Penitenciaría Federal de Sona, the prison Michael Scofield is incarcerated in during the third season of the US television series Prison Break. [2]
Rohter, Larry (2002-09-22). "The Fall of Brazil's Big House" (in English) (fee required). The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071FF934540C718EDDA00894DA404482.
Coordinates: 23°30′30″S 46°37′25″W / 23.50833°S 46.62361°W
   | The Fall of Brazil's Big House - Sept. 15-21; The Fall of Brazil's Big House - The New York Times |
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