The complex is made up of five prison units: three for men and two for women.
Available on Prime Video since October 31st, the series tells the story of several notorious prisoners, such as , and . The production presents experiences and reports of prisoners in the penitentiary known as the “prison of the famous”. The complex is made up of five prison units: three for men and two for women. Among them, the most famous is the Doutor José Augusto César Salgado Penitentiary, also known as P2 de Tremembé. It was built in 1948, but only started receiving so-called “special prisoners” in 2002.
Media criminals would risk their lives in other prisons
And why is this the prison chosen to house those responsible for crimes of such high profile and media coverage? The decision to take famous convicts to Tremembé was taken by the São Paulo Penitentiary Administration Secretariat (SAP-SP) after the Carandiru complex was deactivated in September 2002.
This is because, without Carandiru’s special wing active, prisoners who committed high-profile crimes could risk their lives in common cells, as would be the case of Suzane von Richthofen.
What does the author of Tremembé say about the prison?
Ullisses Campbell, author of the books that inspired the series, reinforced the thesis, in an interview, that Tremembé was chosen to guarantee the safety of the inmates.
“Tremembé’s biggest profile is that it is a place that concentrates people who have committed brutal crimes against the lives of members of their own family,” says Campbell. “These people committed acts so brutal that they would not survive in a regular penitentiary.”
He remembers that the complex also houses lesser-known stories. Still, his five already released books focus on the most high-profile cases.
“The four previous books are biographies of a single character. So, it is a greater immersion in that figure, in that criminal”, he recalls, citing Suzane: Assassina e Manipuladora, Elize Matsunaga: A Mulher que Quartejou o Marido, Flordelis: A Pastora do Diabo and Francisco de Assis: O Maniac do Parque.
Under the general direction of Vera Egypt, the Tremembé series is inspired by the first two books by Ullisses Campbell, about Suzane and Elize Matsunaga. The journalist wrote the script alongside Vera Egypt, Juliana Rosenthal, Thays Berbe and Maria Isabel Iorio.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
