The article assessed the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazilian prisons at the national level. It has addressed documents issued by the National Council of Justice and Federal Government, state institutions and civil society positions. Analysis of documents, news, and interviews with selected actors, which represent different positions in the public debate, was used. Disputes over how to manage the prison population during the health crisis were focused, identifying the main lines and actions proposed. Results indicated resistance to decarceration proposals and indicated the existence of actors transiting through institutions. The findings contribute to know better how the field of crime control works and what are its limits, which has been operational even in crisis situations. The denialist stance toward the health crisis adopted by the Federal Government played an important role in weakening the measures proposed for the management of the population deprived of liberty health, diluting the importance of confinement contexts specificities and the exceptionality of the pandemic moment.