Uruguay
Brazil’s STJ upholds Flordelis sentence of 50 years in prison
The Sixth Panel of Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice unanimously confirmed the former congresswoman’s conviction for the killing of her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo. It also upheld the annulment of acquittals for three relatives.
Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, through its Sixth Panel, unanimously upheld the 50-year prison sentence imposed on former congresswoman Flordelis dos Santos de Souza for the 2019 killing of pastor Anderson do Carmo de Souza, her then husband.
According to O Globo, the court confirmed the jury’s 2022 ruling, which convicted her of completed triple-qualified homicide, attempted double-qualified homicide, armed criminal association and use of a false document.
The conviction holds that Flordelis masterminded the crime, which took place at the family home in Niterói, in Rio de Janeiro state. Anderson do Carmo was shot dead. O Globo reported that the case linked the motive to control over the family’s finances and to the pastor’s strict handling of internal disputes.
The same STJ panel also upheld the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice decision that overturned the acquittal of Rayane dos Santos Oliveira, the former lawmaker’s biological granddaughter, as well as two adopted sons, Marzy Teixeira da Silva and André Luiz de Oliveira.
Flordelis’s defense had argued before the STJ that the conviction should be voided because of alleged procedural irregularities, including insufficient grounds for the qualifying circumstances attached to the crime. The reporting judge, acting appellate judge Nilsoni de Freitas, said the court’s settled case law requires proof of concrete harm before a criminal proceeding can be declared null, which she found was not shown here.
O Globo also reported that the judge said the circumstances of the crime had been specified on the basis of forensic and witness evidence, including base motive, cruel means and a method that prevented the victim from defending himself. She also said the decision sending the case to a jury trial was adequately reasoned, even if concise.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
