How a Facebook photo led to 62 false charges against an innocent doorman in Brazil

In 2020, Paulo Alberto da Silva Costa, a doorman from Rio de Janeiro was arrested and accused of 62 crimes including thefts and two homicides. Costa, who had no criminal record, spent three years in prison before Brazil’s Supreme Court acknowledged the accusations were a mistake.

The charges were based solely on witness or victim identifications from photos taken from Costa’s Facebook profile, which had somehow been added to a “suspect album.” These albums, commonly used by Brazilian police, lack regulation and are notorious for racial bias and wrongful convictions especially against Black people.

“What they did to me was cowardice. They destroyed my life because I’m Black and poor,” Costa, 37, who lives in Belford Roxo, an impoverished city on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro was quoted by the Guardian as saying.

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Cases like Costa’s are alarmingly and very frequent in the country. In 2023 alone, the Supreme Court overturned 377 wrongful convictions based on flawed photo or in-person recognition.

Despite guidelines issued in 2022 requiring more rigorous investigation and barring photo recognition as sole evidence, the practice persists, with police often relying on hastily assembled suspect albums.

Costa’s case stands out not only for the sheer number of accusations but also for the lack of investigation. Most charges originated from a single police station, where officers allegedly used witness “recognition” to close cases quickly without verifying evidence.

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Although Costa was freed in 2023, the Supreme Court ruling didn’t clear all 62 charges. His lawyer continues to appeal the remaining 10 cases. Meanwhile, Costa struggles to rebuild his life as he finds it difficult to work due to frequent court appearances.

“There are police officers who monitor social media, looking for young people they think are violent and dangerous, collecting these photos and adding them to suspect albums,” Pablo Nunes, a political scientist and coordinator of the Centre for Security and Citizenship Studies told the Guardian.

Last May, a Black man who had been sentenced to 170 years in prison based solely on photo identification was released after spending 12 years behind bars. The lack of regulations governing which images can be included in suspect albums continues to be a significant issue.

Two years ago, a photo of the US actor Michael B Jordan was included in one such album in Ceará state. The police later admitted it was a mistake.

Two years ago, a photo of US actor Michael B. Jordan was mistakenly included in a suspect album in Ceará state, an error later admitted by the police.

Although the 2023 Supreme Court ruling freed Paulo Costa from custody, it did not automatically dismiss all 62 charges against him. His defense team has had to appeal each case individually, with 10 charges still pending.

Costa, a father of a 12-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, struggles to find employment due to the ongoing court proceedings. “Who’s going to hire someone who constantly needs time off work to attend court hearings?” he said.

“I can’t have a normal life. And in the Brazil we live in, I’m afraid I might die before I see the end of these cases against me,” he added.