WORLD : 4 Hangings Spark S. Africa Protests
<i> From Times wire service</i> s
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Four people, including a 22-year-old woman, were hanged today, provoking fresh calls from church and civil rights groups for an end to the death penalty.
A Justice Ministry spokesman said the four, all convicted murderers, were sent to the gallows inside Pretoria Central Prison at dawn.
It was the first execution of a woman for more than two years in South Africa, which the London-based human rights organization Amnesty International says has the world’s third highest official execution rate after Iran and Iraq.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
