The Citizen (Gauteng)

Time to reopen death penalty debate

-

The current crime statistics confirm what we have known for a long time – law enforcemen­t is not working, and jail sentences are not a deterrent.

The question uppermost in our minds is where to from here? The moral fabric of our society is in shreds. Murders and rape go on unabated, drug lords – many of them known to the police and communitie­s – thrive, gangs are allowed to rule the roost in vulnerable communitie­s.

To his credit, Police Minister Bheki Cele showed emotion when reading out the numbers.

He weeps with a nation mourning the murder of loved ones, rape of young daughters, shooting of innocent youngsters with stray bullets from gangsters’ guns. The list goes on without an apparent solution in sight.

Surely it’s time to again open the death penalty debate? Murderers and rapists deserve to be removed from society, not spend time in the safety and relative comfort of prison. This, while grieving families mourn the loss of loved ones they’ll never see again.

Perpetrato­rs, unlike their victims, have a second chance to life. Where’s the fairness? Henry CB, George

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa