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He battled the law and justice won.

Sixty days following getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks jail-bound.

Expected Imprisonment

The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been living under home confinement in his residence while a number of judicial steps and appeals play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the next few days, during growing talk that he will be transferred to a notorious high-security penitentiary.

Historical Comments on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the far-right former paratrooper exhibited minimal compassion for Brazil’s inmates.

“Why should we give these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be messed, end of story. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to end up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Location Discussion

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an obvious attempt to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal problems – the outcome of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells accommodating 40 inmates: “That’s virtually one square metre per inmate.

“We conversed to the convicts and they complain, of course, of the terrible meals,” added the senator.

Backers Speak Out

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Authoring in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its record”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied Public Reaction

This could be accurate considering the considerable following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated jailing has also warmed the hearts of many others who think he deserves to be jailed for planning to prevent his successor from becoming president – and additionally scheming to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the current administration's allied group, stated: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to receive proper care – but proper care while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years applauding the tough handling of convicts, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently claimed that basic rights were not for criminals – opted to tour a prison to discover what conditions are really like,” he said.

“He is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, insulting conduct”.

Potential Prison Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently contains about 14,000 detainees, his probable location appears to be a close jail for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more adequate than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro had while living in the stunning presidential palace, about a short distance away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his family,” information stated.

Partisan Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {