Man in Brazil Wrongly Charged with 62 Crimes Due to Flawed Photo ID
A man in Brazil spent three years in prison after being wrongfully identified in 62 crimes, highlighting serious flaws in police procedures.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wrongful Conviction, Photo ID, Police Misconduct
Rio de Janeiro: So, there’s this guy, Paulo Alberto da Silva Costa, right? He was just doing his job as a doorman when, out of nowhere, he got arrested back in 2020. Turns out, he was accused of 62 crimes! Most of them were thefts, but there were even two homicide charges thrown in there. Can you believe that? He ended up spending three years in jail before the supreme court finally said, “Oops, our bad.”
The whole mess started because someone showed a witness a photo of Costa, and they picked him out as the bad guy. It’s wild how often this kind of thing happens, especially to Black folks in Brazil. The police used selfies from his Facebook, and nobody knows how those ended up in a “suspect album.”
Costa, who’s 37 and lives in a tough area called Belford Roxo, said it was pure cowardice. He felt like his life was ruined just because he’s Black and poor. And while his case is shocking, it’s not exactly rare in Brazil. Just last year, a Black man was sentenced to 170 years for a crime he didn’t commit, all based on a photo ID. The supreme court has overturned hundreds of wrongful convictions this year alone.
It’s crazy that these suspect albums are so common but totally unregulated. They can be anything from a physical notebook to digital files, and sometimes cops even send photos via WhatsApp. There are no rules about what can go in these albums, either. Some officers even stalk social media to find young people they think look dangerous and add their photos.
There was even a time when a picture of actor Michael B. Jordan ended up in one of these albums by mistake. How wild is that? Plus, studies show that human memory isn’t super reliable, so relying on it for justice is a recipe for disaster.
In 2022, they tried to set some guidelines for using photo recognition in court, saying it can’t be the only evidence and that suspects should always be shown with others. But even with these new rules, the issues still linger. Costa’s lawyer pointed out that many people were wrongfully convicted before these guidelines were in place and are still stuck in jail.
Most of the charges against Costa came from the same police station, and he never even got a chance to defend himself. The police just showed his photo to someone, they said, “Yep, that’s him,” and boom, he was charged. Even after the supreme court cleared him, he still has to fight to get each of those charges dropped. It’s a long road ahead, with ten cases still hanging over his head.
And here’s the kicker: Costa, who’s a dad to a 12-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, can’t even find a job now. Who wants to hire someone who’s always in court? He’s feeling stuck and worried he might not see the end of this nightmare. It’s a tough situation, and it really makes you think about the flaws in the system.