Death penalty unfair to poor blacks

When news of the Dros rape emerged, people started commenting on social networks. Most white folks assumed the perpetrator was a black man, hence they were furious and demanded the death penalty.

When, however, it was reported that the alleged perpetrator was in fact white, the tone of their rage suddenly changed. All of a sudden, people who were hopping mad, wanting the rapist hanged, started recommending psychological evaluation.

It didn’t end there, Afrikaans newspapers started telling all and sundry that the fiancée of the alleged perpetrator is pregnant.

I honestly didn’t know what to make of that statement. Many black criminals have had their kids born while incarcerated and that has never been an issue.

This is exactly why I’m opposed to the death penalty. My feeling is that poor blacks, who are poorly represented anyway, will be killed like flies. Let’s first fix the justice system so that no one is above the law.

Politicians have brought SA to its knees through unprecedented levels of looting and no one is behind bars. Until such things stop happening, we can’t talk about the death penalty.

The advent of DNA has showed that the US government has executed innocent people over the years. Sadly, most of them are African-Americans. George Junius Stinney Jr was only 14 when he was wrongly executed in 1944. He was black.

Until rich black and white South Africans are made to pay for their sins like everyone else, the death penalty is not required. Richardson Mzaidume Pimville