Saturation of Prisons in Ecuador Due to the Abuse of Pretrial Detention as a Precautionary Measure

Abstract

The legal problem that arises in this case is the saturation of prisons in Ecuador due to the abuse of preventive detention as a precautionary measure, which restricts the ambulatory freedom of citizens to defend themselves in freedom when they are immersed in criminal proceedings, due to the inopportune and illegal application of the same by the judges and prosecutors of the country. It is important to examine how the lack of clear criteria and objectives in the use of this measure has affected prison overcrowding (the number of people incarcerated) and has led to people being held in prison for prolonged periods without trial, leading to overcrowding in prisons and a violation of due process and the human rights of persons deprived of liberty. It will delve into the legal basis on which judges and prosecutors rely for the application of pretrial detention and how this has become a common norm in the Ecuadorian penal system. It will examine the existing policies, practices and legislation that have allowed the proliferation of pretrial detention in the country, as well as the negative impact it has had on the human rights of detainees. Therefore, the legal problem to be delimited focuses on the need to establish more specific and rigorous criteria in the application of pretrial detention in the Ecuadorian judicial system in order to avoid prison overcrowding and guarantee a fair and equitable process for all those involved, proposals for solutions will be analyzed from the legal and constitutional framework, so that the judge does not have the discretion he currently has to decree the precautionary measure.