Court slams Pollsmoor’s awaiting trial facility for inhumane conditions
The Western Cape High Court decided on Monday that the conditions in Pollsmoor Remand (awaiting trial) detention facility are unconstitutional. Lawyers for Human Rights and Sonke Gender Justice filed the complaint with the court, claiming that the severe overcrowding – the facility is approximately 300 % over its capacity – and inhumane conditions should be condemned by the court and addressed by government. The Western Cape High Court decided on Monday that the conditions in Pollsmoor Remand (awaiting trial) detention
Capital punishment: A thin line between life and death
The deadly margin of error in death penalty cases should come as a salutary warning to those wanting to reinstate capital punishment in South Africa. Consider the case of Anthony Ray Hinton from Alabama, US. For 28 years, Anthony Ray Hinton woke up every day in a 5ft by 7 ft death cell. From that cramped space, he saw 54 men being led to the execution chamber, where electrocution put an end to their lives. The next day the air would
The lesser of two evils: cruelty or indifference?
Gregory Bright, who spent 27 years in Angola for a crime he did not commit, agrees. “There were always guys who came back injured from the rodeo,” he says. “One guy had severe kidney problems after he was attacked by one of the bulls. He later died from complications. No one talks about that.” I spent three months in the United States, earlier this year, on a Sylvester Stein reporting fellowship. I wanted to find out what the similarities and differences
The power of words for incarcerated people
My friend and New York attorney Beena Ahmad– who worked for nearly a year with the Wits Justice Project – had a quirky habit. In her neighbourhood in Brooklyn, with great enthusiasm, she picked up books that people left out on the street. Sometimes I would share her joy, like when she picked up a battered copy of Long Walk to Freedom, placed on a garden wall. Other finds, like Form Your Own Limited Liability Company, for example, didn’t seem
How a prison term becomes a debt to society that cannot be repaid
RUTH HOPKINS reflects on how language can impinge on a person’s dignity and why it’s important to consider the meaning and impact of the words we use in the service of justice. A few days after I arrived in New York, to start a criminal justice reporting fellowship, I emailed Johnny Perez, an advocate for the mental health project at the Urban Justice Center, a legal aid and social justice organisation based in the city. Not only does Perez do a lot of
Op-Ed: The colour line between black and blue in New York
When American police officers shot dead two black men – Anton Sterling (Batton Rouge, Louisiana) and Philando Castile (Falcon Heights, Minnesota) – within 24 hours in the sweltering heat of July, thousands took to the streets to protest against the violence that they say is predominantly aimed at African-Americans. Two days later, a sniper killed five police officers, who were guarding a demonstration in Dallas, Texas. His aim? To kills as many white cops as possible. The reciprocal violence exposes