We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
The death sentence is a barbaric act.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the inhumanity and moral failing of capital punishment.
Nelson Mandela's statement condemns the death penalty as a cruel and barbaric form of punishment that reflects a failure of society to uphold human rights. He advocates for a more humane approach to justice, emphasizing the value of life and the importance of rehabilitation over retribution.
Themes
Death PenaltyHuman RightsJusticeBarbaricCapital Punishment
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the ethics of justice reform, this quote can highlight the need for humane treatment in the legal system.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
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The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
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We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
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After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
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I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
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The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful.
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And what I would say now is, yes, if a state enacted a law permitting flogging, it is immensely stupid, but it is not unconstitutional. A lot of stuff that's stupid is not unconstitutional.
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We are still conditioning people in this country and, indeed, all over the globe to the myth of white superiority. We are constantly being told that we don't have racism in this country anymore, but most of the people who are saying that are white. White people think it isn't happening because it isn't happening to them.
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The average man never really thinks from end to end of his life. The mental activity of such people is only a mouthing of clichés.
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