Carandiru jail in Sao Paulo Brazil, holds more than 7,000 prisoners in a space designed for just half that number.

In October 1992, it was the scene of Brazil's worst prison massacre. Police were sent in to stop a rebellion, and shot dead more than 100 inmates.

Six years may have passed, but - as we found on our visit - conditions for many inmates remain bleak, some would say inhuman.

In the health wing almost one in five of the prisoners are HIV-positive.

He says: "I have a list here of the number of times I was supposed to go for treatment, but didn't. On several occasions, there was no police car to take me to hospital. Sometimes, when I did get there, the doctor told me: 'you can't have anaesthetic; prisoners don't deserve anaesthetic.'"

This is a violent prison, and many men are wounded in fights, but medical attention is barely rudimentary.

Religious support

It is hard to see what threat these men pose to society. For many inmates, the only organisation they can turn to for help is the Roman Catholic Church.

Too many to control

Like most Brazilian jails, Carandiru suffers from chronic overcrowding. Many prisoners in this wing have had death threats made against them by other inmates - they are trapped. The director of Carandiru is frank about his inability to administer the jail properly.

House of Detention Director Walter Erwin Hoffgen says: "Of course I don't have control of the situation. It would be ridiculous to say I did. The prison has 7,500 inmates and only about 1,000 prison officers, divided into four shifts."

The problem is that public opinion has always been lukewarm about improving conditions for prisoners. The authorities, however, say they are committed to making things better.

Hope for the prisoners

Prisons in Brazil are run at state level. In Sao Paulo, plans are afoot to close Carandiru jail by the middle of next year. It is part of a wider prison-building programme.

Sao Paulo's Assistant Prison Secretary, Claudio Tucci, says: "This government is currently investing about $200m in new prisons. We're building a total of 21 new jails throughout the state."

And even inside Carandiru, there are signs of hope. The number of cases of torture has fallen. Hundreds of prisoners have found consolation in religion, with evangelical protestant groups particularly strong.

Over the years, Carandiru has developed its own rules, its own slang and its own culture. Some prisoners even say they are reluctant to move.

It is hard to feel much nostalgia for a place which has been the scene of so much suffering. The question is whether the brutality and negligence which have been so present here will continue to be the hallmark of jails throughout Brazil.