Museu Penitenciário do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Penal system museum in Estácio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Museu Penitenciário do Estado do Rio de Janeiro is a museum dedicated to the history of Rio de Janeiro's correctional system. The exhibition displays photographs, documents, medical records, and reports spanning different periods, showing how prison conditions and administrative practices changed over time.

The museum was formally created in 2011 by Rio de Janeiro's State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration through Resolution SEAP no. 421. It occupies the former administration building of the Manicômio Judiciário, the criminal asylum inaugurated on 30 May 1921, today the Heitor Carrilho Institute of Forensic Examinations on Rua Frei Caneca. Its permanent archive holds the historical documentation of the collection and the library of the asylum's psychiatry clinic.

The permanent exhibition "As prisões ao longo da História" traces penalties and prison units from the Brazilian Empire to the present, prompting reflection on the social function of the punitive system. Display cases hold illicit items seized from visitors and inmates, from cell phones to escape tools. The museum also keeps the library of the psychiatry clinic of the former Heitor Carrilho custody hospital, the old Manicômio Judiciário.

Visits are available on weekdays, and guided tours are offered to help understand the collections and their context better. It is best to check specific opening hours and access requirements in advance, as it is a specialized institution with possible restrictions.

The museum functions as a research center where staff members participate in documenting and preserving materials related to the state's penal system.