Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ronald Lamola, says there is \u201cno credible evidence\u201d to suggest that the death penalty is more effective at deterring criminality than long prison sentences.<\/P>
The Minister was addressing the 13th International Congress of Justice Ministers in Rome on Wednesday morning, where dialogues are being held between both death penalty abolitionist and retentionist countries.<\/P>
\u201cCountries that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than countries without such laws. Where the death penalty has been there, (there are) also no significant changes in either crime or murder rates.<\/P>
\u201cAs we gather here today, there is consensus that the State-sponsored vengeance in the form of the death penalty does not alter society. If anything, it makes the world even more violent and inhumane.\u201d<\/P>
Lamola explained that although the values of South Africa\u2019s Constitution and international law are \u201cmutually reinforcing and interrelated\u201d, South Africa has taken the stance to affirm the right to life in \u201cour extradition and mutual legal assistance framework\u201d.<\/P>
\u201cOur Extradition Act\u2026 makes it clear that where an offence is punishable by death or any other inhumane or degrading punishment under the laws of the requesting State\u2026 South Africa will be obliged to engage the requesting State to provide assurances… that the death penalty or other inhumane or degrading punishment will not be imposed, or if imposed, will not be carried out.<\/P>
\u201cWe believe that this approach will enable us to not only uphold a human rights culture in the world but ensure that our commitments in forums like these and in other multilateral institutions are credible and continue to spread across,\u201d Lamola said.<\/P>
He emphasised that the role of the justice system is \u201cnot a pursuit of vengeance but justice\u201d.<\/P>
\u201cJustice does not only judge the person before the court, it adjudicates the actions of society as a whole.<\/P>
\u201cTherefore, the ultimate solution in addressing the harms that criminals accrue to society is not limited to afflicting a consummate response on the perpetrator, but also helping society understand why our communities produce individuals who are of this calibre,\u201d he said.<\/P>
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Source: South African Government News Agency<\/P>
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Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ronald Lamola, says there is \u201cno credible evidence\u201d to suggest that the death penalty is more effective at deterring criminality than long prison sentences.The Minister was addressing the 13th Interna…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n