Sentencing and punishment

While impunity is considered to be a human rights issue, punishment, especially corporal and capital punishments have raised some serious and controversial questions among human rights scholars and activists. South Africa has abolished the death penalty since 6 June 1995 when the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled in the S v Makwanyane case that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Furthermore, during a media briefing in Cape Town in September1996 the then South African President, Nelson Mandela said, "There will be no review by this government. We have outlawed the capital sentence." He said, "We are determined that the death sentence will never come back in this country. It is not because the death sentence has been scrapped that crime has reached such unacceptable levels. Even if the death sentence is brought back, crime itself will remain as it is." Nowadays many South Africans, and according to the media about 85 percent of the population, are calling for the reintroduction of capital punishment given their frustration over high levels of violent crime in the country. This has been a subject of debate and discussion among academics, scholars and politicians. While the ruling ANC is strongly against the reintroduction of the death penalty, many South Africans including Vereeniging regional High Court Judge Gerhardus Hattingh are expressing a need for referendum on the death penalty. Should South Africa bring back the death penalty? We welcome further debate and research into this area from volunteers who posses an interest in the topic. Click here to read more about the projects we are currently involved in.