Break cycle of reward

THE ongoing murder and assault of police and prison staff is rightly of much concern.

It is known that in prison cells, the best of the food provided and the best beds and sleeping places go to senior gangsters, and so on down the gang hierarchy, with those at the bottom getting the worst of everything, and even worse, some luckless soul might become or be forced into becoming a gangster’s “wyfie”, which is to say a catamite.

And the only way out of this nightmare is to stab a warder or a nominated prisoner. How then to get out of this vicious circle?

Break the reward cycle by applying the death penalty, so that there is nothing to be gained and everything to be lost.

Something similar might explain the attacks on members of the police. An attack earns “gang cred” and advance in the hierarchy, murder being the best rewarded. I once attended a trial where three youngish men were on trial for the murder of an old man.

The accused didn’t utter a word, evidently waiting for the time and chance to argue with the judge. They were referred to by number, although I can’t remember which number referred to whom. Then the judge’s words in the passing of sentence, “Accused number one: imprisonment (I can’t recall how long, but a long stretch nevertheless).

“Numbers two and three are sentenced to death.” And with that he got up and left the court. As the interpreter pronounced the word “xonywa” (execution), there was a murmur in court, the two turned an ashen colour, then started arguing, talking, later gabbling… but, too late, the judge was gone.

And I think that when the trapdoors slammed onto the sandbags, somewhere an old man might have sighed. Restore the death penalty!