Priest backs death penalty to control drugs

The Rhodesia Herald,

February 1, 1971

THE Government’s intention to introduce harsher penalties for drug offences was welcomed in Salisbury yesterday. People concerned about the problem said they would support the death penalty or imprisonment without the option of a fine for some drug pedlars.

Fr. John Gough, parish priest of Rhodesville Roman Catholic Church, said: “The death penalty is too good for drug pedlars”.

Fr. Gough, who had studied Salisbury’s drug problem for years, added: “I am personally in favour of very severe penalties for pedlars. People found in possession of drugs who refuse to disclose their source should be treated as drug pedlars.”

The Government said last week that tougher penalties for drug offences would be introduced at the next sitting of Parliament. It said maximum penalties under present laws were quite severe, but had not yet been applied by the courts.

The present maximum penalties are: a $2 000 fine plus 12 months’ imprisonment for certain offences (Drugs Control Act, 1969) and a $2 000 fine plus 10 years gaol for other offences (Dangerous Drugs Act, 1955).

Fr. Gough said the aim of tougher laws should be to deter drug peddling, which he called “slow murder”.

Mr. John Bamforth, acting director of the Salisbury, Samaritan organisation, said the death penalty was appropriate for people who dealt in drug peddling on a large scale.

He said drug pedlars should be sent to gaol and not fined. Such people usually had money and were out to make more.

Asked if he thought it necessary to introduce tougher laws against drug misuse, Mr. Bamforth said: “I do feel the introduction of more severe laws will help curtail the use of drugs”.

He believed there was a real drug problem in the country. Drug thefts and the increase in court prosecutions were in evidence.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

◆Narcotics area men ace. Various countries have laws in place to punish drug peddlers/ pushers and users alike. Punishments range from lengthy prison sentences, huge fines to the most extreme - capital punishment. ◆ Drugs in Zimbabwe are now the elephant in the room as they threaten to destroy our society. Hard drugs that the young people are abusing with reckless abandon include: cannabis (mbanje), cough syrups like BronCleer and Histalix, alcoholic beverages, crystal meth (mutoriro), heroin, crack, cocaine, amphetamine, LSD, ecstasy, and most recently, push from West Africa.

◆ Drug-related deaths and mental health issues are on the rise as well. Government, families and stakeholders are working hard to clamp the problem because substance abuse is a serious threat to tomorrow’s gen- erations.

◆ Whichever way one looks at the rampant abuse of drugs and their effect on society, it is unfortunate that a man of God, Father Gough whose responsibility it was to protect human life, was in the forefront of calling for the death penalty for drug offenders. ◆ Although the death penalty is in place in Zimbabwe, it has been many decades when those on death row have been executed. The death penalty is usually commuted to life imprisonment without parole.