Keltria
03-10-2005, 02:57 PM
I thought it was already done - just goes to show you learn something new everyday.
Fate of death row prisoners to be decided
March 10 2005 at 07:09PM
By Gillian Jones
Sixty-two prisoners are still under sentence of death although the death penalty was declared invalid 10 years ago, the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg heard on Thursday.
"There are 62 persons whose position is still under some cloud," said advocate Vas Soni, appearing on behalf of the state.
The state is defending an application brought by four prisoners on death row arguing they should receive a fresh trial and new sentence.
The 62 death row prisoners fell into two categories, Soni said, those with and those without court records.
The Department of Justice expected to complete by the end of June the process of commuting the sentences of those with records to life in prison.
The second category was more problematic as these prisoners had no records. "The department is agonising on how to take the process forward," said Soni.
One suggestion was to seek guidance from the court, he said.
Soni said some of the cases had taken so long to resolve because the death row prisoners getting legal aid often did not want the counsel they were allocated.
"I'm not saying it justifies a seven year delay from when parliament passed the (Criminal Law Amendment) Act," he said.
The death penalty was declared unconstitutional in June 1995, when the Constitutional Court found it violated the right to life and was cruel, inhuman and degrading.
As a result of that judgment, legislation was passed to provide for the procedure to be followed in setting aside the death penalty and substituting it with a more appropriate sentence.
Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson was critical of the situation.
"Are these people in limbo somewhere in jail? They may stay there forever because nobody knows what to do with them... There may even be people to whom no law is applicable," he said.
Soni said it was a position the state was not proud of.
Justice Zak Yacoob said that in 1995 a certain number of people were identified as having death sentences. "If the judgement was taken seriously at all, then something should have been done at that point," he said.
According to the SA Human Rights Commission, 430 people were facing the death sentence when it was abolished in 1995.
Soni said the court should get involved in the matter. "The court has to do something... It should keep the matter under observation and keep the department of justice on its toes.
"It needs to protect the interests of the extremely vulnerable people involved," he said.
Chaskalson suggested the court might make an order to obtain all the information about how many people were still sentenced to death, and who they were, who had had their death sentence commuted and by whom, and details of the new sentence.
Advocate Frank Snyckers argued on behalf of four death row prisoners who were the applicants in the case before the Constitutional Court.
He said a certain category of prisoners sentenced to death before the death penalty was abolished should be given a fresh trial and a new sentence.
"To determine what an appropriate sentence is for these people it would be abominable to ignore what has happened in the last 10 years," said Snyckers.
Since the death penalty was declared unconstitutional in June 1995, a death sentence ceased to have any legal effect, he said.
"Therefore no sentences are imposed on these people, therefore we need to have sentences and the only way to do so is to have a trial in terms of the (Criminal Procedure) Act.
Applicants with death sentences hanging over them were unable to obtain parole or privileges which they might be entitled to should their sentences have been commuted. - Sapa
Fate of death row prisoners to be decided
March 10 2005 at 07:09PM
By Gillian Jones
Sixty-two prisoners are still under sentence of death although the death penalty was declared invalid 10 years ago, the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg heard on Thursday.
"There are 62 persons whose position is still under some cloud," said advocate Vas Soni, appearing on behalf of the state.
The state is defending an application brought by four prisoners on death row arguing they should receive a fresh trial and new sentence.
The 62 death row prisoners fell into two categories, Soni said, those with and those without court records.
The Department of Justice expected to complete by the end of June the process of commuting the sentences of those with records to life in prison.
The second category was more problematic as these prisoners had no records. "The department is agonising on how to take the process forward," said Soni.
One suggestion was to seek guidance from the court, he said.
Soni said some of the cases had taken so long to resolve because the death row prisoners getting legal aid often did not want the counsel they were allocated.
"I'm not saying it justifies a seven year delay from when parliament passed the (Criminal Law Amendment) Act," he said.
The death penalty was declared unconstitutional in June 1995, when the Constitutional Court found it violated the right to life and was cruel, inhuman and degrading.
As a result of that judgment, legislation was passed to provide for the procedure to be followed in setting aside the death penalty and substituting it with a more appropriate sentence.
Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson was critical of the situation.
"Are these people in limbo somewhere in jail? They may stay there forever because nobody knows what to do with them... There may even be people to whom no law is applicable," he said.
Soni said it was a position the state was not proud of.
Justice Zak Yacoob said that in 1995 a certain number of people were identified as having death sentences. "If the judgement was taken seriously at all, then something should have been done at that point," he said.
According to the SA Human Rights Commission, 430 people were facing the death sentence when it was abolished in 1995.
Soni said the court should get involved in the matter. "The court has to do something... It should keep the matter under observation and keep the department of justice on its toes.
"It needs to protect the interests of the extremely vulnerable people involved," he said.
Chaskalson suggested the court might make an order to obtain all the information about how many people were still sentenced to death, and who they were, who had had their death sentence commuted and by whom, and details of the new sentence.
Advocate Frank Snyckers argued on behalf of four death row prisoners who were the applicants in the case before the Constitutional Court.
He said a certain category of prisoners sentenced to death before the death penalty was abolished should be given a fresh trial and a new sentence.
"To determine what an appropriate sentence is for these people it would be abominable to ignore what has happened in the last 10 years," said Snyckers.
Since the death penalty was declared unconstitutional in June 1995, a death sentence ceased to have any legal effect, he said.
"Therefore no sentences are imposed on these people, therefore we need to have sentences and the only way to do so is to have a trial in terms of the (Criminal Procedure) Act.
Applicants with death sentences hanging over them were unable to obtain parole or privileges which they might be entitled to should their sentences have been commuted. - Sapa