Lashing Is Not The Answer

In his 1961 book on corporal punishment, British parliamentarian Leslie Hale asked: "Has an innocent man ever been hanged?" South Africa may have abolished the death penalty in 1995, but the debate over it rages on 30 years later. At the heart of the call for its reinstatement is the country's crime crisis.

- Kyle Zeeman

Frustrated at peaceful interventions that go nowhere, repeat offenders and a slow justice system, police and residents often take matters into their own hands. They are creating an unofficial death penalty that is fuelled by vengeance and retaliation, not deterrence.

Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald this week suggested the formal return of another channel of violence: corporal punishment.

Corporal punishment in prisons has been illegal since 1996, but the minister believes its return may alleviate overcrowding.