The agreement signed by the president (PT) and published this Monday (23) benefits mothers and grandmothers convicted of crimes without serious threat or violence for the care of children and grandchildren up to 12 years of age with disabilities.
Forgiveness is also granted to terminally ill people, pregnant women in high-risk pregnancies and people with severe autism spectrum disorder (grade 3).
The rules were published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union. The Christmas pardon grants sentence relief to prisoners who comply with the rules established by the president.
Those convicted of crimes of violence against women and against the democratic rule of law were excluded from the benefit — which excludes, for the second consecutive year, those sentenced for the January 8 coup attacks.
Lula also defined that pardon does not apply to those convicted of sexual crimes, abuse of authority, leaders of criminal factions, whistleblowers with active collaborations and those convicted of heinous crimes.
The presidential decree provides that people sentenced to a sentence of no more than eight years can leave prison if they have served one-fifth of the prison time. If she is a repeat offender, the period for progressing to the regime remains at one third of the sentence.
Those convicted of crimes, with a sentence of no more than four years, who have already served a third of their sentence are also pardoned — for repeat offenders, the term is half the time in prison.
The benefit may be reduced for those who have served half the expected prison time in some cases, such as people over 60 years old, pregnant women or women with a child up to 14 years old and people essential to the care of a child up to 12 years old with a serious illness or disability.
Provided for in the Constitution, the pardon became a tradition at the end of the year. A pardon can extinguish sentences, including fines, and remove convicts who comply with the rules from prison.
The benefit by the STF (Supreme Federal Court), based on the rules chosen by the president.
Even though it is traditional, the pardon of sentences was controversial in previous years.
The former president (MDB) signed a decree in 2017 pardoning those convicted of corruption who had served one-fifth of their sentence by December 25 of that year. The point was considered controversial by the (Attorney General’s Office). Because of the controversy,
In 2022, the then president (PL) granted pardon to all , which occurred in 1992, in São Paulo.
Although it did not name any of the PMs, the text of the article described particular circumstances that perfectly fit the PM’s situation.
“Christmas pardon will also be granted to public agents who […]in the exercise of their function or as a result of it, have been condemned, even if provisionally, for an act committed more than thirty years ago, counting from the date of publication of this Decree, and not considered heinous at the time of its practice”, says the article 6th, non-existent in previous pardons.
Bolsonaro was pardoned, then president of the STF, in January 2023.
