News / National
No to death penalty says prison officer
22 Dec 2015 at 08:00hrs | Views
A Gweru-based prison officer-cum-sculptor/musician, Innocent Magwere has come up with a sculpture which denounces the long condemned death penalty. The sculpture, with the theme "No Trinity", castigates the death penalty saying life sentence is better punishment for grave offences.
The sculpture is about an inmate or prisoner on death row, rope around the neck and body, a straight jacket, an open Bible at the bottom and a holy cross in the form of a sword, meaning there is no holiness in killing a killer even in the Bible.
In an interview with The Herald Review, the outspoken Innocent said he was touched to know that someone was on death row while there are other means to punish them.
"Well, this sculpture is called 'No Trinity', it castigates death sentence. Death sentence by hanging took our ancestors Ambuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi - so to show honour to them we Zimbabweans should stop the death penalty.
"Life imprisonment is punishment enough for a human being," he said.
He said it was the duty of the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services to help these prisoners to transform.
"In addition, the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services' mandate is to incarcerate, rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders for correctional service to achieve full reformation and rehabilitation and can change a murderer into a priest, house breaker into a builder and a rapist into preacher of the good news. As a prison officer I have noticed that people or offenders can reform and many dangerous criminals fear no death but they are afraid of life imprisonment than death sentence," said Innocent.
He added that a death sentence doesn't give the offender a chance to life and to reform. There is also a risk of killing an innocent person, because it was used to eliminate people by politicians during the Rhodesian regime and can even work in some countries.
"Lastly, Zimbabwe is a Christian country so should not oppose its value by doing what the Bible condemns in Exodus where it says 'thou shall not kill," he said.
Apart from being a sculptor, he is also a singer and has composed an album with a song that supports this sculpture. The album has six tracks with songs such as "Mutongo Wetambo" that support that sculpture, "Sango Rinopa Waneta," "Pastime", "Tarira mberi", " Zuva", and " Zvipo".
From his work as a sculptor he said he donates 10 percent from sales of his sculptures and presentations to orphanages and Crisis Centres in Gweru with Queen of Peace orphanage being one of them.
The sculpture is about an inmate or prisoner on death row, rope around the neck and body, a straight jacket, an open Bible at the bottom and a holy cross in the form of a sword, meaning there is no holiness in killing a killer even in the Bible.
In an interview with The Herald Review, the outspoken Innocent said he was touched to know that someone was on death row while there are other means to punish them.
"Well, this sculpture is called 'No Trinity', it castigates death sentence. Death sentence by hanging took our ancestors Ambuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi - so to show honour to them we Zimbabweans should stop the death penalty.
"Life imprisonment is punishment enough for a human being," he said.
"In addition, the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services' mandate is to incarcerate, rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders for correctional service to achieve full reformation and rehabilitation and can change a murderer into a priest, house breaker into a builder and a rapist into preacher of the good news. As a prison officer I have noticed that people or offenders can reform and many dangerous criminals fear no death but they are afraid of life imprisonment than death sentence," said Innocent.
He added that a death sentence doesn't give the offender a chance to life and to reform. There is also a risk of killing an innocent person, because it was used to eliminate people by politicians during the Rhodesian regime and can even work in some countries.
"Lastly, Zimbabwe is a Christian country so should not oppose its value by doing what the Bible condemns in Exodus where it says 'thou shall not kill," he said.
Apart from being a sculptor, he is also a singer and has composed an album with a song that supports this sculpture. The album has six tracks with songs such as "Mutongo Wetambo" that support that sculpture, "Sango Rinopa Waneta," "Pastime", "Tarira mberi", " Zuva", and " Zvipo".
From his work as a sculptor he said he donates 10 percent from sales of his sculptures and presentations to orphanages and Crisis Centres in Gweru with Queen of Peace orphanage being one of them.
Source - Herald
