NCJ Number
179464
Date Published
1998
Length
398 pages
Annotation
In the course of examining the arrest, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing to death of the "Sharpeville Six" in South Africa under apartheid, this book conducts a wide-ranging analysis of the various forms of bias in the criminal justice system of South Africa under apartheid.
Abstract
On September 3, 1984, Sharpeville and the other townships in the Vaal of South Africa erupted into flames. In the course of this crisis, the deputy mayor of Sharpeville was killed after he opened fire on a crowd of protesters. Six people ("The Sharpeville Six") were subsequently arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for their alleged role in this murder. In dissecting this case to show a miscarriage of justice, the authors expand their analysis to encompass the way the police investigated offenses, the extent of judicial concern to protect the innocent, the rules of criminal procedures, and the law of evidence to show how convictions were made easy to secure. The book also addresses how the totality of this bias in the criminal justice system was apt to be understood and experienced by black South Africans. The Sharpeville Six spent almost 2 years on death row. The first stay of execution was ordered just 18 hours before they were due to be hanged. The book uses letters written from death row to describe the impact of this experience and show how a person might adjust to the injustice of impending execution. Finally, the authors, one of whom is a sister of one of the accused, describe how an international campaign was successfully conducted to save the lives of the Sharpeville Six. Chapter notes, a 280-item bibliography, and a subject index