I saw on the news yesterday evening that a judge gave out the longest serving sentence ever handed down in South Africa yesterday.

Three men were conviceted of the rape and murder of a 4 year old child last year. Two of them broke into a house where the little child and the maid were, while the third man 'stood watch.'

The third person, who said that he did not know what was happening inside the house was given a 20 year sentence for conspiracy, while one of the men inside the house, was given 3 life sentences and an additional 10 years for armed robbery. The second man was given two life sentences and an additional 10, also for the armed robbery.

The newsreader then commented that 'two of the three men will not see the outside of a prison until they are 60.' - these men are now 30.

When does crime become serious? I mean.. When is 30 years actually not enough? These men broke into someone's house, raped the maid and the 4 year old child, ransacked the house, took everything that they wanted, killed the little girl and then hid her body under a bed in the house, leaving the maid tied up outside, with no clothes on, after gang-raping her.

No-one can tell me that they didn't know what they were doing. Although they confess to being 'high' on drugs at the time, who's fault is that? Surely that should go against them as well?

I mean really - I know that we all write to prisoners because we feel for them and we want them to be integrated back into the outside world again, at some point, but when does violent crime actully become too much?

These guys will not serve 30 years - prisons in South Africa are totally overcrowded as it is, and in another 5 years, although there may well be a few more prisons having been built, the way this country is... there will be many thousands more in them... still making the prisons overcrowded. Crime in this country is just well and truly out of control.

Personally I think that these guy will serve about five years each. It happens everyday, that convicted murderers are let out of prisons, simply because they are overcrowded, in this country.

Sorry for the looooonnng post...

Please tell me what you think.