Entries tagged with “Nelson Mandela”

Sep 12, 2025

30 Years Ago, South Africa Abolished the Death Penalty to Prioritize Life and Dignity

30 years ago, the new­ly formed Constitutional Court of South Africa issued a land­mark deci­sion abol­ish­ing the death penal­ty and pri­or­i­tiz­ing the core con­sti­tu­tion­al rights to life and dig­ni­ty above all else. Published on June 6, 1995, the Court’s opin­ion in *S v. Makwanyane* drew on inter­na­tion­al legal frame­works, as well as death penal­ty debates in oth­er coun­tries, such as the United States. The Court weighed inher­ent issues in the appli­ca­tion of the death…