riot in Lima’s San Pedro Prison left one inmate dead, less than two months after a fight between rival groups in San Miguel Prison in Santiago, Chile,

Catholic San Francisco: "riot in Lima’s San Pedro Prison left one inmate dead, less than two months after a fight between rival groups in San Miguel Prison in Santiago, Chile, led to a fire in which 81 inmates died.

The prison in the Chilean capital housed nearly twice the number of inmates it was designed to hold, while San Pedro’s stark, concrete buildings, built for about 3,000 men, now house some 8,000.

San Pedro, Lima’s largest prison, also is dangerous, a school for crime, a public health hazard and a place where inmates essentially govern themselves, according to Ricardo La Serna, a member of the prison ministry leadership team at the Peruvian Conference of Bishops’ Social Action Commission.

“None of this has happened by accident,” La Serna said. “The country’s public policies have not addressed this well.”

Prison populations have climbed steadily in recent years throughout Latin America, partly because of rising crime rates, but also because of stiffer sentences for recidivism and for activities that formerly were not considered crimes, such as protests that block highways."