Brazil’s Lower House Passes Sentence-Reduction Bill for Jan. 8 Convictions

Overview

• Lawmakers approved the so-called PL da Dosimetria by 291 to 148, sending the measure from the Chamber of Deputies to the Senate for consideration.
• The text replaces cumulative penalties for overlapping democratic-order crimes with the most serious penalty plus an added fraction, accelerates prison progression thresholds to 16% for primary offenders and 20% for repeat offenders, and allows work or study credits during monitored home detention.
• Senate leaders confirmed the proposal will pass through the Constitution and Justice Committee, with Senator Esperidião Amin named rapporteur and an expedited timetable under discussion.
• Government allies signal a likely presidential veto if the bill reaches the presidency, and opponents prepare to contest its constitutionality at the Supreme Court.
• Parliamentary projections say the changes could cut Jair Bolsonaro’s time in closed regime to roughly 2 years and 4 months from a 27-year-and-3-month sentence, though final calculations depend on judicial decisions.