South Africa should impose the death penalty on criminals...

South Africa should impose the death penalty on criminals who committed murder, rape and armed robbery to protect the lives of its citizens, especially women, an opposition party leader said.
Speaking at a Women's Day rally in Western Cape province, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said: "When you add the figures for assault, murder and other crimes against women it is clear that criminals in South Africa have targeted women and children as easy victims," the South African Press Association reported.
"Only this week we heard that former first lady, and former president of the NNP Women's Action, Mrs Marike de Klerk, was not only brutally murdered but allegedly raped too," Van Schalkwyk said.
Longer sentences, stricter bail conditions, and the reinstatement of the death penalty for serious crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery with aggravating circumstances would act both as a deterrent and an appropriate punishment, he said.
"Despite the gains we have made in South Africa in the area of women's rights, we must acknowledge that until every mother, wife and daughter in our country is free from fear, we will not deserve the label of truly democratic," he concluded.