Officials had initially put the number of dead at 42, but later revised the number to 40. At least 25 of the victims were found in the Antonio Trindade Penal Institute near Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, where all four prisons are located. The latest violence in Amazonas, one of Brazil's most violent states, was "almost guaranteed to inspire retribution inside and outside the prison walls." Along with severe overcrowding and gang violence, riots and breakout attempts in Brazil's prisons are not uncommon. "Deaths in Brazil's prison system are shamefully recurrent," said Julita Lemgruber, a former director of Rio de Janeiro's penitentiary system and professor at Candido Mendes University.

Source: Bangkok Post May 28, 2019 03:00 UTC