Can we talk of a "golden age" for rehabilitation in criminal law? Meanings and uses of rehabilitation in a Brazilian penal reform

The thesis that rehabilitation was the "hegemonic organizing principle" of criminal law in the Western world during the so-called "les Trente Glorieuses" (the 30 years post-war boom) is widespread in the criminological literature but rarely documented by empirical research. Little is known about legislative, judicial or correctional practices that this ideal founded. This article aims to shed a new light on this thesis by studying different uses of the discourse on rehabilitation in a penal reform commission active in the 1980s in Brazil and considered progressive. Based on the analysis of reflection papers and legislative proposals produced by this commission as well as interviews with some of its members, our paper shows that reformers have addressed rehabilitation to the political system and to the criminal courts. Addressed to the political system, rehabilitation was highly valued and meant to improve the living conditions in Brazilian prisons. Addressed to criminal courts, it was very devalued and marginalized compared to retribution and deterrence. These results suggest that reformers relieve courts from taking into account the social inclusion of offenders; this remains a concern for the political system which must put in place correctional programs in order to promote rehabilitation. When rehabilitation is placed in sentencing, and thus an issue for criminal law, its scope remains very limited and it does not play a dominant role.