The year death row got packed
Friday, December 22, 2017
By precedent, the road between the death penalty and execution is dark in Botswana. Few death penalty convicts have had their sentences overturned at the Court of Appeal (CoA) and even fewer have had their convictions set aside.
The road is also straight. Once a High Court Judge rules that he cannot find extenuating circumstances in a murder conviction, the sentence of death is almost always handed down.
These legal professionals, who are entrusted with upholding the rule of law, face numerous challenges that compromise their ability to effectively carry out their duties.Elsewhere in this edition, we carry a story on the lamentations of the officers of court.The prosecutors have raised a number of concerns, calling for urgent attention from all relevant stakeholders, including the President, Minister of Justice and the Attorney General. Their...