In Case You Were Wondering

This is why I really believe as I mentioned here that easing the overcrowding of prisons is so important in fighting crime in Brazil:

Twenty-five inmates died in a fire early Thursday after inmates rounded up rivals in a cell and set mattresses ablaze to kill them, police said.

The prisoners could not escape the blaze in what appeared to be a settling of scores between rival gangs in the lockup in Ponte Nova in the south-central Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, said police Lt. Andrea Amara Lopes.

Prisons in Brazil have too often become training grounds for criminal enterprises and development centers for gangs. Overcrowding adds fuel to the fire and the result is what happened today. The only good news to come out of the this - and it really not very good news - is that the prison will be emptied for now with the prisoners going to other prisons throughout Minas Gerais. The reason being that the fire destroyed the top floor of the prison.

One wonders what the guards were doing.