prison

Preparing for Christmas in a Brazilian prison

Preparing for Christmas in a Brazilian prison

16 Photos

By JENNY BARCHFIELD | Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In her sweat-stained Santa suit and soggy cotton-ball beard, Carina Barbosa looked every inch the picture of tropical Christmas cheer — at least until she leaned into the candy cane striped bars of her cell and peered wistfully out.

Barbosa, a 29-year-old who’s serving time for drug trafficking, was one of more than 500 inmates ringing in the holidays Thursday at Rio de Janeiro’s Nelson Hungria prison with religious plays and a cell-decorating contest.

The inmates, who are serving time for offenses from burglary to homicide, spent weeks decking out the cell blocks with holiday decorations they made from objects they have access to behind bars.

Christmas trees were made from strips of green plastic from soda bottles, the presents below out of empty milk cartons swathed in tissue paper. Wreathes were fashioned out of the aluminum plates that prison-issue meals are served on, and the floors were sprinkled with a light snowfall of ground-up Styrofoam. Tropical heat-resistant snowmen were made from white plastic cups, and family members supplied Santa suits and store-bought ornaments.

Each cell of 50 women or more also put on a skit dramatizing biblical stories, with many depictions of Jesus’ life, as well as David and Goliath, giving the prison’s would-be thespians their chance to shine. Voices soared in rapture with the religious songs, and many, many tears were shed.

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Touring Philadelphia’s infamous Eastern State Penitentiary

Touring Philadelphia’s infamous Eastern State Penitentiary

24 Photos

The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia once housed mobster Al Capone and bank robber Willie Sutton. The 980-cell Gothic-style prison, where massive gargoyles sit menacingly above its high-walled stone entrance, closed in 1971 after 142 years. On April 30, 2014, former inmates reunited to tour the facility and answer questions about their time behind bars.

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Nov. 9 Photo Brief: Intangible Chinese culture, Syrian refugees, Body Worlds in Honduras and a Sri Lankan prison riot

Nov. 9 Photo Brief: Intangible Chinese culture, Syrian refugees, Body Worlds in Honduras and a Sri Lankan prison riot

23 photos

Syrians continue to flee their homes by the thousands, a deadly prison riot in Sri Lanka, “Body Worlds” displays its preserved human specimens in Honduras, China cracks down on poorly-managed, intangible cultural heritage and more in today’s daily brief.

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