Legal sentences of adolescents for small-scale drug trafficking in Brazil: an analysis of judicial decisions
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Abstract
Abstract (analytical)
The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal sentences for drug trafficking offense in Petrolina, a
city in the state of Pernambuco, in the period 2011-2014 based on the analytical review of institutions
and laws that have historically targeted minorities and the Theory of Sentencing. The social content
of legal and extralegal variables was analyzed, analyzing the cumulative effect of determinants for
the sentences. The most frequent judicial decisions were procedural extinction and acquittal. Socioeducational measures of warnings, dropping of all charges and suspended sentences are more
common than imprisonment. However, there are disparities in sentences for similar cases and the
handing down of analogous sentences in disparate cases. It is concluded that the penal system is a
producer and reproducer of social inequalities and punishment is perceived and used as a technique
for the control and transformation of poor adolescents who are caught with small amounts of drugs.
Keywords: Narcotic Drugs, Teenagers, Justice and Brazil.
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