Should sexual offenders be denied parole?

So this week was really a devastating week for South Africa as we saw another girl child killed senselessly. We all know the name Tazne Van Wyk, the 8 year old girl from Elsies River whose body was dumped in a storm water drain in Worcester last week. Tazne had gone missing two weeks before – after she went to the shop just a few metres from her home.

The suspect, a 54 year old man named Moehydien Pangaker, evaded police for 10 days before he was arrested in Cradock. He is a known sex offender who had been released on parole for a similar crime and a host of other crimes dating back to the early 1980’s.

As the collective anger mounts in the wake of Tazne’s murder, there is a bigger question to ask around the criminal justice system and parolees. How is it that a known sexual offender was released on parole and not closely monitored? Why are communities not informed when criminals are given parole? And of what use is the correctional system, when criminals recommit crimes?
Should there be changes in the law so sex offenders and abusers serve their full sentences without the possibility of parole?

Well that’s our Burning Issue tonight, as we chat to the Department of correctional services, the SA Human Rights Commission and other activists