Sistema carcelario contemporáneo: albergue neutralizador de sujetos enemigos

Abstract

In this paper we will reflect critically on the prevailing criminal policy in our Western jurisdictions, mainly toward the model of incapacitation of the person in order to neutralize future dangerousness that may pose to society. This new model is often contrary to the most basic Criminal Law principles of proportionality and guilt, and the principles of rehabilitation and social reintegration in the prison context. Furthermore, we will investigate what is the role of the prison based on the new criminal policy, and how it has changed since its creation in the eighteenth century to our contemporary era. Finally, this work deals very critically on how the dominant paradigm and the mutation of jail from it are rooted dramatically in the penal and penitentiary reality of Puerto Rico.