TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction 2
2. Sentencing during the Apartheid Era________________________________________2
3. Sentencing now and how judges determine the extent of the sentence____________3
3.1 The purpose of punishment and sentencing________________________________3
3.2 The different forms of punishment_______________________________________3
3.3 How judges determine the extent of a sentence_____________________________4
4. Restorative vs. Retributive approach 4
5. The Death Penalty: A form of punishment 5
6. African Jurisprudence 6
7. Conclusion 7
8. Bibliography 8
1. Introduction
Every citizen has certain duties to perform to the state. In the interest of society, the state promulgates certain norms which regulate the conduct …show more content…
As a result between the years of 1980 to July 1989 about 1109 people had been hanged. By the end of July 1989 about 283 prisoners were held on death row at Pretoria Central Prison. The then minister of justice, Kobie Coetsee, stated that 43,5% of inmates on death row was overcrowded.
The S v Makwanyane case is a very important case when it comes to the topic of the death penalty. In this case Makwanyane was sentenced to death. He appealed to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the death penalty was in contradiction with section 9, 10 and 11(1) of the constitution which is the right to equality, human dignity and the right to life respectively- two of which are the fundamental rights of the constitution. The Constitutional Court agreed with Makwanyane’s argument and as a result, the death penalty was abolished.
There are however arguments of whether the death penalty should be re-instated or not. The people who are in favour of it being reinstated argue that life imprisonment is not a sufficient form of punishment because the prisoner who has been sentenced to life imprisonment can still be released and/or can still escape. They also argue that life imprisonment places an unnecessary financial burden on the state which gets its revenues mostly from tax payers’ …show more content…
It declared that “…it is necessary for such purposes that provision should be made for the promotion of national unity and the restructuring and continued governance of South Africa”.
Ubuntu first made its first premiere in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court in S v Makwanyane . It is here where the concept was given its first interpretation by the courts. Judge Mokgoro held that:
“While it envelops the key values of group solidarity, compassion, respect, human dignity, conformity to basic norms and collective unity, in its fundamental sense it denotes humanity and morality. Its spirit emphasises respect for human dignity, marking a shift from confrontation to conciliation”
Justice Langa continued to state that:
“It recognises a person's status as a human being, entitled to unconditional respect, dignity, value and acceptance from the members of the community (that) such person happens to be part of. It also entails the converse, however”
Nelson Mandela once said:
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we
1. Introduction 2
2. Sentencing during the Apartheid Era________________________________________2
3. Sentencing now and how judges determine the extent of the sentence____________3
3.1 The purpose of punishment and sentencing________________________________3
3.2 The different forms of punishment_______________________________________3
3.3 How judges determine the extent of a sentence_____________________________4
4. Restorative vs. Retributive approach 4
5. The Death Penalty: A form of punishment 5
6. African Jurisprudence 6
7. Conclusion 7
8. Bibliography 8
1. Introduction
Every citizen has certain duties to perform to the state. In the interest of society, the state promulgates certain norms which regulate the conduct …show more content…
As a result between the years of 1980 to July 1989 about 1109 people had been hanged. By the end of July 1989 about 283 prisoners were held on death row at Pretoria Central Prison. The then minister of justice, Kobie Coetsee, stated that 43,5% of inmates on death row was overcrowded.
The S v Makwanyane case is a very important case when it comes to the topic of the death penalty. In this case Makwanyane was sentenced to death. He appealed to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the death penalty was in contradiction with section 9, 10 and 11(1) of the constitution which is the right to equality, human dignity and the right to life respectively- two of which are the fundamental rights of the constitution. The Constitutional Court agreed with Makwanyane’s argument and as a result, the death penalty was abolished.
There are however arguments of whether the death penalty should be re-instated or not. The people who are in favour of it being reinstated argue that life imprisonment is not a sufficient form of punishment because the prisoner who has been sentenced to life imprisonment can still be released and/or can still escape. They also argue that life imprisonment places an unnecessary financial burden on the state which gets its revenues mostly from tax payers’ …show more content…
It declared that “…it is necessary for such purposes that provision should be made for the promotion of national unity and the restructuring and continued governance of South Africa”.
Ubuntu first made its first premiere in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court in S v Makwanyane . It is here where the concept was given its first interpretation by the courts. Judge Mokgoro held that:
“While it envelops the key values of group solidarity, compassion, respect, human dignity, conformity to basic norms and collective unity, in its fundamental sense it denotes humanity and morality. Its spirit emphasises respect for human dignity, marking a shift from confrontation to conciliation”
Justice Langa continued to state that:
“It recognises a person's status as a human being, entitled to unconditional respect, dignity, value and acceptance from the members of the community (that) such person happens to be part of. It also entails the converse, however”
Nelson Mandela once said:
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we