Justice delayed becomes injustice

The law is an ass – sometimes. The upholding of principle in pursuit of justice often leads to manifest unfairness. It’s worse when lawyers get involved and game the system for their clients.

If there was ever anything that debased our legal system, it was the late Kemp J Kemp SC’s Stalingrad defence: the intentional shopping around different courts at taxpayer expense trying for a different outcome, or challenging arcane points of law to delay the process and keep their clients out on bail. It’s a travesty, because it creates doubt in a system that is premised on the belief that everyone is equal before it. But even without this, there are still parts of the law that make little sense to the person in the street, like the media not being allowed to name a divorcing couple, even if they are celebrities and live off media attention – or identifying a killer because the person was below the age of 18 when he murdered a couple and raped their daughter, but 18 when he was sentenced.

The release of convicted killers and sex offenders on parole is equally problematic. Many parole boards seem to just tick boxes and if (a) the convict has served half their sentence and (b) they’ve attended mandatory rehabilitation programmes in jail, they’ve got a very good chance of being released. Given the conditions that exist in our jails, it seems unlikely that anyone would not use these opportunities as a welcome diversion from the reality of life behind bars.

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The question whether the rights of those who have been wronged – or injured – will continue to be protected by the release of these people on parole never seems to be considered by these boards. Equally, whether the convicts have been punished enough for the crimes they committed and if they are on a path of rehabilitation and redemption to become valued members of society. It is a question that Rob and Sharon Matthews were asking before their daughter Leigh’s murderer, Donovan Moodley, was denied parole last year.

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