Wrongfully imprisoned electrician says he lived a nightmare in jail: 'I thought I was going to die in prison'

247 - "My wife started trembling, she felt ill. They took me away in handcuffs, without explaining anything. "Jabson, 59, recounted, still trying to understand how his life had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. A resident of Grajaú, in the southern zone of São Paulo, he was unjustly arrested in early July, accused of a crime committed in Bahia — a state where, according to him and his family, he has never been."

The case was revealed by the portal. Twitter, who heard from Jabson after his release on July 15th, when he left the Pinheiros Provisional Detention Center (CDP), physically and emotionally weakened. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Bahia (MP-BA) acknowledged the error on the 11th, and the court ordered the revocation of the arrest three days later.

The arrest occurred abruptly while Jabson was sweeping the sidewalk in front of his house on a Monday morning. "When he gave his full name, the police said there was a warrant for his arrest for the rape of a vulnerable person," the family reported. "I just kept saying, 'What rape? I've never been to Bahia.' Nobody answered." "Jabson recalled, describing the anguish of the moment. Married, father of two daughters and grandfather of four grandchildren, Jabson has worked as an informal electrician since leaving his job as a caretaker, a position he held between 2008 and 2015. He has lived in the same area since 1991 and says he has faced similar problems before. According to family members, he was previously mistaken for another man with the same name in a case of false testimony registered in Suzano."

During the days he spent in prison, Jabson reports having faced fear, loneliness, and despair. "I thought I was going to die in prison.""I'm so upset," he lamented. He recounted that, at the police station, he spent hours not knowing why he was there. “They kept saying, ‘Wait for the hearing.’ When they left, I asked Caterine [daughter] to find out what was going on.”, reported.

The daughter then began gathering evidence proving that her father wasn't even in Bahia on the date of the crime. The defense presented documents and testimonies that were crucial to reversing the arrest. The acknowledgment of the error by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bahia was fundamental to his swift release. Since returning home, Jabson has been trying to recover from the trauma. The family says he is still shaken and has difficulty sleeping. The case reignites the debate about flaws in the identification system and the devastating impact of wrongful imprisonment on the lives of innocent people.