Country Proposes More Flogging, Less Jail (Botswana)

GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana wants to extend the use of corporal punishment so criminals can be beaten instead of going to jail.

The former British colony already uses corporal punishment -- by "strokes" of a cane -- for minor crimes, but its scope will be widened if a Bill published in the Government Gazette becomes law.

The Bill, seen by Reuters on Monday, would allow courts to sentence men under the age of 40 to be flogged instead of serving time in jail for minor offences or non-payment of fines.

Government officials have credited capital and corporal punishment as helping diamond-rich Botswana avoid the high rates of crime that afflict neighboring South Africa.

Guess he was a slow learner.

The Associated Press, April 2, 1998
Singapore Caning Victim Arrested

WINTER PARK, Fla. (AP) -- The young man who was caned in Singapore four years ago for allegedly vandalizing cars has been arrested in Florida on drug charges.

Michael Fay, 22, was arrested at his apartment Tuesday by a deputy responding to neighbors' complaints about loud music.

Fay, a student at Valencia Community College, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and less than 20 grams of marijuana. He was released Wednesday after posting $500 bond.

``I'm not going to lie to anybody. It was my mistake. I was smoking marijuana,'' Fay said later.

In May 1994, Fay was flogged four strokes with a rattan cane on his bare buttocks for a vandalism conviction in Singapore, provoking outrage in this country.

The nation's authoritarian government has been widely criticized for curbing civil liberties. Fay, who had been living in Singapore with his mother and stepfather, said he was beaten into confessing to a crime he didn't commit.

After returning to the United States, Fay was suffered burns to his hands and face in September 1994, and admitted he was burned while sniffing butane, a fuel used in cigarette lighters. He then went into drug rehabilitation for a butane habit.

This might seem crazy, but I don't have a problem with this. I wouldn't have a problem if they instituted corporal punishment (and heavy fines) for minor felonies here. I think sending people to prison actually can seal their fate and make them worse than they were. And it costs taxpayer dollars. And there are people who commit minor offenses so they can go to prison because they're homeless. This would stop that. Except for the masochists.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.