tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post240384726244377085..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: The Scandal of Prisons in South AfricaIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-59066608741840831652007-05-01T10:49:00.000+01:002007-05-01T10:49:00.000+01:00Hey, Iain, it's not just an SA problem. Back in th...Hey, Iain, it's not just an SA problem. Back in the late eighties I worked for a contracting firm that did work for HM Prisons. For my sins I got to spend eight hours a day inside one of Her Maj's nicks and came to know some of the officers quite well.<BR/><BR/>According to them a lot of overcrowding then was caused by down and outs and other homeless types deliberately committing some offense or other just so they could go back inside. This phenomenon was especially marked during autumn.<BR/><BR/>Still, things are pretty bad in SA. But PJ ought to remember that the vast majority of the impoverished poor do <B>NOT</B> commit crime. Sure poverty may ease the passage of honest men into dishonest ways but in no way is it a universal excuse. Indeed if one believes the reports coming out of black areas, ordinary blacks are even more frustrated at the level crime. They do however tend to do something about it - the infamous "necklace" hasn't gone away, it's use just isn't ideologically newsworthy anymore.The Remittance Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13104149259707414863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-73317694649801217572007-05-01T10:32:00.000+01:002007-05-01T10:32:00.000+01:00if you think that's bad, try the prisons in Brazil...if you think that's bad, try the prisons in Brazil...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-20119816841833421982007-05-01T04:21:00.000+01:002007-05-01T04:21:00.000+01:00I think that the fact that people find life more c...I think that the fact that people find life more comfortable inside than out is more because life in South Africa is crappy for blacks who haven't been helped by the government they elected, rather than because the prisons are particularly lenient.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-21113128191259056552007-05-01T03:16:00.000+01:002007-05-01T03:16:00.000+01:00Oh, Plankton, I didn't mean to suggest that murder...Oh, Plankton, I didn't mean to suggest that murderers get the rotan in Singapore!<BR/><BR/>Singapore has its head screwed on right, so to speak. After appeals, if they are still guilty, after sifting through all the evidence once more, they get the rope. Friday. Dawn. Announced in a little announcement in the Straits Times. For the record.<BR/><BR/>In Singapore, it's very important to remember not to murder anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-86397129534846265542007-05-01T02:43:00.000+01:002007-05-01T02:43:00.000+01:00Plankton - You are correct. In Singapore, they do...Plankton - You are correct. In Singapore, they don't have repeat prisoners. <BR/><BR/>The rotan is a long (so it can be swished with great force) hearty bamboo. The perp is strapped, face down, on a kind of surgical table, and protective pads are applied to his kidneys. Then he gets the full force of the strokes the court has chosen to mete out for his crime. If deemed to be too much in one go, he is allowed to recover for a couple of weeks before getting the next go.<BR/><BR/>The Chinese are not merciful people, which may be why, by and large, their societies are law-abiding. Let's just say "human rights" don't keep them awake at night. <BR/><BR/>This is why you can walk around Singapore at any time of the day or night and civil society reigns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75554395131523512772007-05-01T00:42:00.000+01:002007-05-01T00:42:00.000+01:00Maybe this country should adopt the use of the rot...Maybe this country should adopt the use of the rotan. Particularly in the cases of axe wielding killers of elderly women.<BR/><BR/>I believe that this would have possibly modified the belligerent attitudes and lack of contrition shown by those have enjoyed their time as a guest of Her Majesty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79837454643612558362007-04-30T23:56:00.000+01:002007-04-30T23:56:00.000+01:00The rotan is so painful that they strap on special...The rotan is so painful that they strap on special pads to protect the kidneys of the prisoner. Also, they only administer (I think) six strokes max at a time (it may be fewer). So if someone is sentenced to eight strokes, he has a couple of months during healing to remember the horrifying pain he suffered with the first six strokes, and contemplate the final two. <BR/><BR/>Makes for many a sleepless night. But heigh-ho ... the punishment fits the crime.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-45787469434338752092007-04-30T23:46:00.000+01:002007-04-30T23:46:00.000+01:00I wonder whether anybody is going to blame us "imp...I wonder whether anybody is going to blame us "imperialists" for this one? Surely they must be able to find a link to our colonisation of Africa when it comes to blaming us for AIDS and criminality in the continent?Wrinkled Weaselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05291551539649118631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75466578435705952182007-04-30T22:50:00.000+01:002007-04-30T22:50:00.000+01:00Don't know why the above post did not come out as ...Don't know why the above post did not come out as JHL, been messing around with blogspot, is this any better?jailhouselawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03795278184797990706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-74751216254974014782007-04-30T22:24:00.000+01:002007-04-30T22:24:00.000+01:00Outrageous! Criminals get free treatment but law a...Outrageous! Criminals get free treatment but law abiding citizens don't? It should be the other way round!<BR/><BR/>If prisoners want to go back to prison it's clearly not acting as a punishment or a deterrent and should be made harsher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-11913647297426950032007-04-30T21:35:00.000+01:002007-04-30T21:35:00.000+01:00I know that he is no longer the President, but sur...I know that he is no longer the President, but surely Nelson cannot be turning a blind eye to this?jailhouselawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03795278184797990706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-56487573538689766502007-04-30T21:24:00.000+01:002007-04-30T21:24:00.000+01:00Singapore administers the rotan. That ensures a o...Singapore administers the rotan. That ensures a one-time only residency in Changi.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-86729511746595258152007-04-30T20:20:00.000+01:002007-04-30T20:20:00.000+01:00I have a friend who writes to Brits in third world...I have a friend who writes to Brits in third world prisons. If the RSA made their prisons more like Thailand, made them sleep 30 to a room on straw and fed them fish-head stew, less people there would turn to crime.<BR/><BR/>Having a situation where prison is nicer than life on the outside is silly. Perhaps they shopuld bring back the bullwhip.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-48921163474861582702007-04-30T19:38:00.000+01:002007-04-30T19:38:00.000+01:00It seems that most South Africans, of all colours,...It seems that most South Africans, of all colours, were better off under the Boers.<BR/><BR/>What's more, the situation in South Africa will only get worse as Mbeki and co turn the country into a bigger version of Zimbabwe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-71287202181160266342007-04-30T19:21:00.000+01:002007-04-30T19:21:00.000+01:00So much better in the rest of former British Afric...<I>So</I> much better in the rest of former British Africa, of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com