PRISON DILEMMA FOR ZEPHANY ’ S KIDNAPPER
ZEPHANY Nurse is an 18-year-old teenage girl who was kidnapped from Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town three days after she was born.
She was raised by her alleged kidnapper under the pretext that Zephany was her biological child.
For the past 17 years, Zephany only knew the kidnapper as her biological mother.
When the case came to light, the alleged kidnapper was prosecuted and this week judge John Hlophe found her guilty of kidnapping, fraud and contravening the Children’s Act.
While South Africa awaits her sentencing which is reserved for May 30, the National Prosecuting Authority is pushing for a long jail sentence. Undoubtedly many in society agree with the NPA.
But is the long term imprisonment of the kidnapper, who Zephany sees as her mother, the best outcome in this case? Whose benefit will it serve?
In most instances victims of crimes, and even society in general, are usually in favour of the incarceration of a perpetrator. This for them is justice irrespective of whether the perpetrator will be rehabilitated or not. Perhaps it is this thinking that underpinned the Correctional Services Act 111/98 (36) that states “With due regard to the fact that the deprivation of liberty serves the purposes of punishment, the implementation of a sentence of imprisonment has the objective of enabling the sentenced prisoner to lead a socially responsible and crime-free life in the future”.
On the contrary, the White Paper on Corrections adopted in 2004 espouses a rehabilitative approach which seeks to give offenders tools to reform. The stance is backed by empirical evidence indicating that incarceration is not usually a deterrent of wrong-doing in the future.
The White Paper also moves away from the archaic penal system that dominated the justice system in the past but positions the family as the primary level and community institutions as the secondary level at which correction must necessarily take place.
The psycho-social effect of incarcerating perpetrators can be detrimental particularly to Zephany, who is at the centre of this case, if critical elements are neglected.
According to media reports, the case has already affected Zephany negatively. She was unable to sit for her matric exams last year; she has shown signs of being socially and emotionally withdrawn in fear of stigmatisation that arise from the case. Her plight might further be exacerbated by the sentencing in the event that a prison term is handed down.
There is no telling what the results of her exams which she is currently sitting for will be, but against the backdrop of the trial one is justified to anticipate the worst and possible dire effect on her future.
Incarceration of the perpetrator will have little if any benefit to the biological parents, neither would it serve the interests of broader society. Incarceration would also not serve to rehabilitate the perpetrator as she is not necessarily a danger to society. Instead, it might serve to inflict trauma on her and Zephany.