Muertes en las cárceles uruguayas. Magnitud del fenómeno y problemas para estudiarlo.

Abstract

The penitentiary system stands out as a space in which conflict and violence becomes particularly evident. Deaths in this context acquire specific features, either in terms of incidence of the different types of death, or in the profiles of the deceased population. Despite the relevance and magnitude of the problem, there are strong difficulties for its empirical study, linked -among other things- to the access and quality of available information. Within this framework, the article has a threefold objective: to reflect on the availability of data sources for the analysis of the phenomenon; to provide a general overview of the deaths that have taken place in Uruguayan prisons in the last decade; and to enumerate some of the main challenges that our country face to address this problem.