An analysis of the meaning of section 24(a) of the South African Constitution in the context of correctional centres

Abstract

The history of prisons in South Africa is important not only to determine how far we have come in aligning the correctional system to constitutional and human rights standards, but also to understand how the past system has impacted upon the current context. The history of prisons (now called correctional centres) began with the Cape prison system. Singh explains that when Jan van Riebeeck invaded the Cape colony, he introduced the 17th-century Dutch form of punishment.1 This manner of punishment was public and brutal. Despite its violent nature, this system influenced the administration of justice and the penal system in South Africa.2 Public crucifixion and firing squads were used to punish offenders.3 Convicted offenders were sometimes held in chains and kept in the Dutch East India Company’s slave lodge and forced to do public labour. Some offenders were deported to Robben Island to remove them from the public. The system, according to Van Zyl Smit, had no concern for the well-being of its subjects.