A great number of the prisons of the Brazilian Penitentiary System have been neglected. Prisoners under sentence or arrest or awaiting trial, sane or insane, promiscuously live together inside these institutions. They do not have adequate medical assistance, food, education, nor treatment. Because of inadequate juridical assistance, thousands of prisoners who could get out of prison by means of parole, penalty unification, or criminal revision are kept in confinement. Some are not released, even though they may have already completed their term. Other deplorable conditions include inadequate and untrained staff, lack of personal security for staff and inmates, and the lack of concern for human rights. The aim of the prison system in Brazil is not rehabilitation, but security and discipline. Although the maximum security facilities should not be eliminated, a certain number of options should be offered to the prisoners who are not dangerous. These options include semi-open and open regimes to domiciliary prisons, conditional cessation of the penalty, parole, and restrictive penalties of rights such as community services, limited weekends, and temporary prohibitions of rights.