Ditshwanelo

Today is the World Day Against the Death Penalty, with particular dedication to abolition in Africa . DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, joins the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) in calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Botswana .

There is growing international acceptance that for a State to punish with a sentence of death is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and 121 countries across the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. The majority of African countries are no longer using it, including many in Southern Africa such as South Africa , Angola , Namibia , Malawi and Zambia . DITSHWANELO calls upon the Government of Botswana to join in this worldwide recognition that the death penalty is not only an exercise in cruelty, but also that it is outdated and at odds with the Vision 2016 view of Botswana as a compassionate, tolerant nation.

There are many reasons why DITSHWANELO has been voicing its opposition to the death penalty since 1995:

It is a gross violation of the fundamental and universal right to life, which no one, neither an individual nor the State, has the right to take.
Research has shown that the less-privileged are more likely to be sentenced to death as they are unable to afford adequate legal representation.
The risk of the State killing innocent people with no means of correcting the mistake, is very real and has catastrophic consequences for the convicted person and their families. Such errors render the legal system as a whole unreliable and undermine faith in justice. It has happened several times, and it continues to happen, even in countries with long established legal systems, such as the USA .
Furthermore, despite common views to the contrary, scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty prevents crime more effectively than other punishments. It does not act as a deterrent and recent figures from countries which have abolished the death penalty have failed to show that its abolition has led to an increase in crime. Instead, there are often many reasons for a society to experience an increase in crime, including acute poverty and other social factors.

As part of its campaign to raise awareness of the issue, DITSHWANELO is to host a discussion on the 20 October at the University of Botswana and launch a booklet as part of its ‘Know Your Law’ series called ‘A Guide to Conducting Death Penalty Cases’. The pro-deo legal system in Botswana often means that legal representation provided to those accused of capital offences is extremely poor and can even result in unjust convictions. The booklet is intended to be an authoritative guide for lawyers representing those who may face the death penalty if convicted, and seeks to ensure access to a proper judicial process for those accused.

DITSHWANELO calls for much needed public debate regarding the facts surrounding the death penalty and the well-established, humane alternatives to it. We urge that Botswana joins the international community by abolishing this outdated and barbaric form of punishment.