Even by the levels of violence to which Brazilians are accustomed, the video published by Folha de São Paulo in early January was particularly gruesome. In the short clip, a group of inmates in the Pedrinhas penitentiary in the northern state of Maranhão show off the decapitated and mutilated bodies of three men, apparently members of a rival gang. Filmed in December 2013, the victims were just some of the 62 inmates killed in that prison last year. In response to the publication of the image, the governor of Maranhão state, Roseanna Sarney, of the Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB), merely questioned the authenticity of the footage. For others, however, the two-minute clip has raised serious questions about the conditions in Brazil’s prisons. End of preview - This article contains approximately 701 words.
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