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Opinionista

Oscar trial, the spin-off: Our prisons should be tried as well

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Gushwell F. Brooks is an LLB graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand. He did not go on to become an attorney, but much rather entered the corporate rat race. After slaving away for years, he found his new life as a talk show host for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk.

Oscar Pistorius’ defence team has compellingly argued that prison is an unsuitable and unsafe place for the athlete to rehabilitate. But this is true, too, of the thousands of other offenders living behind bars. Isn’t it time for an overhaul of the whole terrible system?

In typical Hollywood fashion, once it is discovered that a concept works well, a trilogy by in itself is no longer sufficient, but a spin-off in the series becomes a necessity as well. In the case of the Oscar Pistorius drama, part three in the series is due, but it can only be released upon Judge Thokozile Masipa’s conclusion of the case: the final sentencing of Oscar Pistorius, set to commence on Tuesday 21 October.

However, there is a sideshow emerging, and as with any spin-off, our focus emanates from the periphery, yet remains firmly grounded in the main story itself. As the State and the Defence in the S v Pistorius argued for aggravation and mitigation of sentence, a surprising element was introduced by the defence team. Advocate Barry Roux, through Parole Officer Anette Vergeer, argued that Oscar Pistorius, due to his disability, was vulnerable and could fall victim to rape and assault behind bars. Due to South Africa’s much-publicised state of prisons, this was in fact a reasonable argument.

It’s a misconception that Pistorius would have it worse than anyone else, though. Speaking to Golden Miles Budu, a renowned activist in the Prisoner’s Rights and Correctional Services space, the idea emerges that if Oscar Pistorius were to be sentenced to imprisonment, his money, privilege and status would not have him spend any time in the general population section of prison. According to Budu, even behind bars, money buys you prime real estate. In fact, Budu speaks of the ‘hospital section’, a section reserved for inmates that require medical and, in some instances, psychological treatment. But this section also reportedly caters for former law enforcement officials and correctional services officials – in essence, anyone that would not survive for more than a few seconds in the general population. He further asserts that corruption in the system sees moneyed inmates abusing this section, bribing prison officials to house them in these areas.

Now, if one were to call Budu an ex-con with an axe to grind with Correctional Services, perhaps Acting National Correctional Services Commissioner, Zach Modise, would be the most likely candidate to clarify what Oscar’s fate would be if incarcerated. Unlike Vergeer, who based the bulk of her testimony on prison conditions on a nine-year-old POPCRU speech sourced via the internet, Mr Modise actually knows and understands the state of prisons. He, too, is best placed to tell us what Oscar’s fate behind bars would be.

Knowing prison to be hell in the real sense and not wanting the blood of a globally renowned athlete on his or his office’s hands, Modise assured the trial court that if Pistorius were to be incarcerated, he would be kept in the ‘hospital section’, in a single cell.

Great, so if Oscar went to prison, he would be in the luxury wing, away from the 26s, 27s and the notorious 28s. I have followed and covered the Oscar Pistorius case from day one, but barring my knowledge that the trial judge has found him guilty of culpable homicide, I do not have particular feelings about Pistorius. That said, I do fundamentally believe that neither he nor any other inmate deserves the sexual violence that is prevalent behind bars. However, his money and his celebrity ensures that he will be spared the traumatic experiences I have been informed of on late-night radio. I, along with my late-night audience, have been privy to tales of human hearts being passed around because ‘for blood to go in, blood must come out’, along with many more grotesque accounts of what happens in overcrowded cells in general population.

I can hear the sighs of relief: ‘Oh wow! Oscar will be kept away from marauding sex fiends and gangs and he will have access to his prosthetic legs too!’ But is this good enough? If there is one thing the arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence have brought to the fore, is the fact that our prisons are in a dire state for Joe and Jane Public; those who do not have access to Oscar’s wealth, status and legal team.

Rape behind bars has been society’s global dirty joke, and disappointingly so, for more than a century. This applies from notorious Mexican and Latin American prisons, to the rest of us watching HBO’s Oz with shock and horror as a prison rape is dramatised every other week. But South Africa’s prison rape culture has not been relegated to fiction and speculative oration alone: there are documentaries aplenty, and enough research has been conducted to confirm that we have amongst the most notorious gangs in SA prisons, gangs well known for their rape culture. Growing up in the community that I did, I heard enough stories about what goes on behind bars to promise myself that I’d never end up in there.

The issue is that very little has been done to turn this culture around, and I do believe that this failure has dire consequences on the rest of society.

It could even be argued that the state institutions responsible for the correction and rehabilitation of those of us in society that go astray and offend are complicit in allowing this culture of sexual violence to persist, perhaps by merely standing by and doing very little about it, perhaps through dicey messaging using it as a deterrent to keep us out of jail.

A little over two years ago, the “Drive Dry” campaign launched an ad campaign to keep drunk drivers off the road. It is an imposing image painted by the television advertisement. The old Springbok Nude Girls hit “Blue Eyes” echoes hauntingly in the background, as from the back of the police van, from the shadows, you see a dark character emerge, beckoning you toward him, “Pappa wag vir jou.” The wiry figure beckoning you towards him is scarier than Freddy Krueger and reminds me of a member of the 28 gang I once saw in a Ross Kemp doccie.

So if we are “scared straight” with prison rape, the immediate assumption should be that it is well in the knowledge of the various officials overseeing our prisons. If prison is meant to rehabilitate, which is essential since the vast majority of prisoners end up leaving prison, then how can this be achieved if gang rape, assault and abuse is your fate when paying back your debt to society?

It is not only Pistorius that faces jail time, but young kids that set a foot wrong in a very complex and difficult life as well. They do not have Barry Roux to argue that prison is an unpleasant place for them, and based on what Vergeer described, even if it’s only true for some prisons or certain sections, that environment is not conducive to correction and rehabilitation, but is rather cruel and unusual punishment. Unconstitutional, last time I checked! DM

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