Necklacing ,the practice of summary execution

Feb 112012
 

Necklacing

Necklacing refers to the practice of summary execution carried out by forcing a rubber tire, filled with gasoline, around a victim’s chest and arms, and setting it on fire.

The practice became a common method of lethal lynching during disturbances in South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. Necklacing sentences were sometimes handed down against alleged criminals by “people’s courts” established in black townships as a means of circumventing the apartheid judicial system. Necklacing was also used to punish members of the black community who were perceived as collaborators with the apartheid regime. These included black policemen, town councilors and others, as well as their relatives and associates. The practice was frequently carried out in the name of the African National Congress (ANC), and was even implicitly endorsed by Winnie Mandela, then-wife of the imprisoned Nelson Mandela and a senior member of the ANC, although the ANC officially condemned the practice.

The first recorded victim of necklacing was the young girl Maki Skosana in July 1985

enormous boas found by workers clearing forest for a new road

Feb 062012
 

Boa 330KG

 

The thread claimed the snake was one of two enormous boas found by workers clearing forest for a new road. They apparently woke up the sleeping snakes during attempts to bulldoze a huge mound of earth.

“On the third dig, the operator found there was blood amongst the soil, and with a further dig, a dying snake appeared,” said the post.

“By the time the workers came back, the wounded boa had died, while the other snake had disappeared. The bulldozer operator was so sick that he couldn’t even stand up.”

The post claimed that the digger driver was so traumatised that he suffered a heart attack on his way to hospital and later died.

The dead snake was 55ft (16.7m) long, weighed 300kg and was estimated to be 140 years old, according to the post.

MODELS OF TORTURE

Jun 152011
 

MODELS OF TORTURE
It is our contention that the only way to grapple with the ethics
of torture is to acknowledge that there are different types of
torture, and that these types of torture can be examined under
different models. This book consists of examining torture
under four separate models. Under each of these models, we
will demonstrate that torturein all of its formsis morally
impermissible. By examining each of these models in some
detail, we will prevent the common retreat of some defenders of
torture from one model to another. Thus, when we emphasize
the way that torture forces persons to use their very humanity
against themselves (Chapter Three), or dismantles the individual
agency of even the torturer (Chapter Four), or undermines the
conditions of meaningful communication (Chapter Five), our
opponent will not be able to retreat to the familiar utilitarian
considerations of the ticking-bomb, as we will have already

Continue reading “MODELS OF TORTURE” »