Shepherds and Butchers Page #4

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seven fit young men

killed by a single individual

calls for closer scrutiny.

The prosecution has adduced

no evidence of a motive,

and there appears to be none.

We intend to look

at the accused's

working conditions

on death row,

inside maximum

security prison,

and the events

that took place there

prior to

the incidents at the quarry

in order to find

the reason for his actions.

Actions we believe

were unconscious

and triggered by

his traumatic

experiences as a warder.

So,

the defense is asserting

that the accused's

working conditions

triggered these actions,

that they were involuntary,

and therefore not

punishable by law.

Correct, my lord.

This raises

matters of state security, Mr.

weber.

If I allow this,

i don't want any names used.

Not of officials or inmates.

Not one.

Listen, labuschagne,

when you're on the stand,

you'll talk,

you'll do as you're told,

or you'll soon find yourself

back in your gallows

with a noose

around your own neck.

Mr. labuschagne,

please tell

the court how old you were

when you first

joined the prison service.

And why did you join?

If you join

the police or prisons,

you don't have

to go to the army.

Why did you wish to

avoid the military?

They sent you to

Angola to fight.

Were you aware

that the warders

at maximum security prison

performed gallows duties?

No.

So, you had no idea

what your duties would be

when you first

arrived at maximum.

No.

Could you tell the court

about your first day there?

I was briefed on

the importance of secrecy.

I was told not

to speak to anyone

about anything to

do with the work

we were doing

inside the prison.

And if I did,

I'd be disciplined.

My lord,

is this detail necessary?

We are here to shed light

on what occurred

on magazine hill,

not to make public

the internal functions

of a government institution

whose activities

might be confidential,

perhaps even secret.

My lord, the time

the accused spent

working on death row

is central to

the defense's case

regarding his state of mind

that day on magazine hill.

We intend to lead

detailed testimony

about

the accused's state of mind,

in particular,

his circumstances at work.

I'll allow it, Mr.

weber, provisionally.

Continue, please.

What did you

experience on your first day

at maximum, Mr. labuschagne?

I was to accompany

the warrant officer

to see seven men on the rope.

"On the rope?"

It's what we

say for any prisoner

under the death sentence.

These seven were

going up the next day

to the gallows.

Will you please tell the court

what happened

when you went

to see these men?

The warrant officer said

I'd have to pick one

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