Brazilian Inmates Generate Free Electricity For Town Through Cycling

Inmates from a Brazilian prison in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais can now shorten their sentences simply by cycling every day, reported the Associated Press on Tuesday, after the prison installed stationary bikes that can store and generate electricity for the small town of Santa Rita do Sapucai.

Inmates from a Brazilian prison in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais can now shorten their sentences simply by cycling every day, reported the Associated Press on Tuesday, after the prison installed stationary bikes that can store and generate electricity for the small town of Santa Rita do Sapucai.

According to the report, the stationary bikes are hooked up to car batteries, which had been donated by local businesses, and a converter is then attached to transform the battery’s charge into useable energy for the town.

Prisoners can then spend up to eight hours a day on the bikes, with every three eight-hour days shaving off one day from their sentences.

[quote]”We used to spend all day locked up in our cells, only seeing the sun for two hours a day. Now we’re out in the fresh air, generating electricity for the town and at the same time we’re winning our freedom,” said 38-year-old inmate Ronaldo da Silva, who is serving a five-and-a-half year sentence for holding up a bakery.[/quote]

To date, Silva has already cycled off 20 days from his sentence, with the program currently having seven other volunteers.

Clad in their prison garb, Silva and his fellow cyclists hit the bikes at around nine in the morning and ride until about 5 p.m., with breaks for lunch and an afternoon snack.

[quote]”It’s a win-win situation,” said the prison’s director Gilson Rafael Silva. “People who normally are on the margins of society are contributing to the community and not only do they get out sooner in return, they also get their self-esteem back.”[/quote]

The town’s judge, Jose Henrique Mallmann, who was the brainchild for the project, also told AP that he had gotten the idea from a story he read on the Internet where gyms in the U.S. were generating electricity with their exercise bikes.

Presently, the electricity generated by the inmates is enough to power ten street lamps along a riverside promenade every night. Prison Director Silva expressed hope that he would soon have enough bicycles to power all 34 riverside street lamps in the town.

Furthermore, Silva also disagreed with any suggestion that the inmates were being coddled.

[quote]”People say that we’re turning prisons into a kind of luxury hotel…But this is the only hotel I know of where no one wants to stay,” he said.[/quote]

Related: Infographic: Prison Spending vs. Education Spending in the US

Related: Spanish Region Cuts Back on Inmate Snacks as Austerity Takes Its Toll

The Brazilian prison system is one of the most notoriously overcrowded in the world, with more than an estimated 500,000 people held behind bars. Human rights groups have long complained of appalling conditions and widespread violence, and programs such as the one in Santa Rita do Sapucai are believed to be an attempt to fix the problem.