Plan to Hang 17 Assailed
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The South African government came under fire Monday for announcing plans to hang 17 criminals and later hinted that some could be reprieved.
“It is presumptuous to say they are going to be executed. At this point, the emphasis should rather be on reprieve,” Justice Minister Hendrik J. Coetsee told reporters. “But you must remember that some of these people have committed heinous crimes--murder, rapes and others.”
South Africa, which had one of the highest execution rates in the world in the 1980s, has not used the death penalty since 1989 because of reforms lengthening sentencing and appeals. The most recent death sentence was that of a white right-winger for attacks against blacks.
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