bout those cocks in coffins.
The Carandiru massacre took place on Friday, October 2, 1992 in Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, and is considered a major human rights violation in the history of Brazil.
The massacre was triggered by a prisoner revolt within the prison. The police made little if any effort to negotiate with the prisoners before the Military Police of São Paulo State stormed the facility, as the prison riot became more difficult for prison guards to control.
The resulting casualties were 111 prisoners killed: 102 from gunshots fired by the military police and nine from stab wounds apparently inflicted by other prisoners before the arrival of the police.
None of the sixty eight police officers were killed. Survivors claimed that the police also fired at inmates who had already surrendered or were trying to hide in their cells.
The commanding officer of the operation, Colonel Ubiratan Guimarães, was initially sentenced to 632 years in prison for his mishandling of the rebellion and subsequent massacre.
On 16 February 2006 a Brazilian court voided Guimarães' conviction because of mistrial claims; the court accepted his argument that he was only following orders.
Several human rights groups labeled the situation as a "step backward" and a contribution to the culture of impunity regarding police violence in Brazil. Guimarães, who was also a member of the São Paulo state legislature, was assassinated in September 2006.
The massacre led to consternation amongst other Brazilian inmates, some of whom formed a criminal organization called the Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Command of the Capital) in 1993. This group is believed to be responsible for the death of José Ismael Pedrosa, director of the prison at the time.
The prison was demolished on December 9, 2002.
